The Strongest Sorcerer of Tomorrow

by Aaaaaaert

How would he ever be able to face the world again? From within the depths of Fushiguro Megumi's soul, Ryomen Sukuna had spoken that question. It kept echoing in his head, over and over again... so he had to ask himself honestly: Could he truly keep living? After all the failures he had amounted to? He couldn't, he truly couldn't. When the final Black Flash fell, so did his life.

63. Chernobog Crisis (WORLD BURNING FLAMES)

A/N: 23K Words.

In light of the Domain Amplification Sure-Hit imbuement most likely being a mistranslation, I'll most likely just delegate "Domain Envelopment" to be an Incomplete Domain Expansion that has its Sure-Hit purposefully removed to be conserve for Cursed Energy in exchanged in a Binding Vow, along with being able to manipulate its coordinates like a normal Domain Expansion.

Still keeps the main thing of what I want from it—conserving Cursed Energy but still being able to summon multiple Shikigamis. So that means Megumi should still be able to use Shrine with it in this story's context.

So I guess it can be loosely called a Domain Envelopment if the Domain is following him, lol.

Also, best if this is read on Ao3 or Wattpad, once again. :)

OOO*

Skadi stared at the white-haired woman who was dashing across the training room of Rhodes Island. She hadn't remembered Laurentina being this vigilant when it came to training, not even when she was with Gladiia—or she assumed so—because Skadi herself hadn't been a part of the Second Company. She was a part of the Third Company.

The shark lady was flickering across the enhanced training room made specifically for those who possessed around the bounds of an Abyssal Hunter's physical prowess. Did that mean it could handle their capabilities? Absolutely not, and such a statement could be evidenced by the absolute mess it had been left into.

Constantly and consistently, Skadi felt as if the wind itself was being ripped apart in front of her. It had been like this for nearly the past two years ever since she had reunited with Laurentina—even if her mental state due to apparent Oripathy infection had left it in a strange state where she flickered between her normal personality and brief bouts of insanity. Still, there had been an obsession embedded deep beneath those crimson orbs—for somebody who was named "Princess" or whatever.

If she knew anything, it looked like the woman in front of her wanted to rip whoever that person was to shreds. By all means, Skadi was sure that constant strain over her body and pushing its speed to the limits had almost let Laurentina reach a level that was close to the Second Company's own Captain, Gladiia.

Every time a harsh turn was made, a flash of heat billowed across the room along with the sound of metal shattering. Then, the metal punching bag that had already been turned into nothing but scrap metal was slammed into by an unactivated buzzsaw. She hadn't remembered the other Abyssal Hunter being this fast whenever they were on missions together back then.

She could understand if Laurentina wished to fight the Seaborn much more effectively after the disastrous mission that led to every Company being wiped out, but the lengths she had taken to do so... was staggering. For twelve hours each day, the shark lady would relentlessly go into the training room or take it outside of Rhodes Island in order to train herself.

It was to the point where Skadi herself had been dragged into a majority of the training sessions. Of course, she couldn't deny such a request, as the only person she remembered back from home was right in front of her—everybody else was a pure mystery on what their status was at the current moment. Rhodes Island was their best bet at finding another one of their kind, that much she could believe in after they had astonishingly found Laurentina off in some random valley that had been destroyed by traces of combat.

Ah... really, it didn't help that Laurentina was far different from what she remembered.

Skadi briefly glanced into the eyes of the flickering woman who had finally come to a stop. There were atrocious dents across the training room along with sharp debris broken off from the walls stabbing everywhere, one of them having almost reached herself if she hadn't casually deflected it with her greatsword. There was something in those twin jewels of hers that illuminated a light of despondency and insanity that wasn't as prevalent before.

It was also reflected in her personality when she had first met with her. Dr. Kal'tsit noted it had to do with the festering Originium implanted in her spine that apparently had a recent resurgence from wherever she came from, along with mental stress that had altered her mental state to an unprecedented level. Overall, whoever she had been fighting back in the valley was unknown, but there have been assumptions that they were the ones that had put Laurentina into such a state.

Especially with the copious amount of Originium injected into her spine, affecting both her somatic nervous system and the rest. Even then, for an Abyssal Hunter such as herself, Skadi was confident that it served as nothing more than training wheels for her physical body. For her mental-self... not so much.

Skadi stood up as she could hear the shark lady softly pant after the long-winded and exertive process she had put herself through, "Shark," before calling out to her. The exhaustion that was present instantly vanished from Laurentina due to her biology—just as expected from any Abyssal Hunter—as she turned toward her.

"Hm...?" Laurentina let out a hum of acknowledgement toward Skadi, that hadn't matched her bout of intense focus and anger from before, "ah... Orca, yes, Orca, I remember your name." A thoughtful look overcame her as she creased her brows in intense focus, "haha... how long have I been doing this now?"

"Two years. Every twelve hours. This time it's only nine," Skadi said, "you remember your purpose well." She felt sour when saying those words, "but you're always moving back between yourself and..."

"The other one?" Laurentina asked wistfully, "maybe you're right. The border has always been thinning over the past two years."

"It's becoming hard to tell which one is which," Skadi affirmed slowly, "it was recommended you shouldn't partake in extraneous activities..."

"Two years of inactivity on dry land, that would be a waste." Laurentina bluntly replied, "of course—what else can we do other than to prepare for those wastes waiting at the bottom of the ocean?"

"...There's more to it than that." Skadi met the gaze of the other woman, feeling as if something was wrong with them—because there was. It stemmed somewhat deeper than the hatred she possessed of the Seaborn, that much she could already tell.

"There's always a bigger picture for something," Laurentina replied, "ah... it should just be approaching night should it not? Haha... of course, the blackened sheen of the sky. I remember it well, oh-so-well... How can that be? Well, maybe it was an aching memory that wishes to reveal itself, that must be why." Her tone became more bitter by the second as she looked like she was reminiscing.

"Shark." Skadi repeated her name again, "your mind is drifting away again." As if it were to the whims of the seas tinged with a bitter salt. Underneath the lens of her eyes, it was one which bore no light.

"What a bother," Laurentina shut her eyes and sighed, "the mind has occupancy only for one mind. Still, it's as if I'm learning something new... yet, utterly useless at the same time."

"..." Skadi didn't know what to say.

"Ah, pay no mind to my thoughts. They're drifting off once more," Laurentina let out a vacant sigh, "would you like to dance with me once more? It's always a good distraction from this pestilence that won't drift away as any normally would."

The other Abyssal Hunter stared at the battered room where she stood without much of a change in expression, "which kind of dance?"

"A waltz, mayhaps?" Laurentina pressed an index finger on her lower lip, "or should it be a ballet? A quickstep?"

"A waltz would destroy the training room, Dr. Kal'tsit would never allow that," Skadi said, some of the woes she had felt dissipating at the other's suggestion.

"Oh, you know how to control yourself," Laurentina shook her head with an exasperated breath, "please—while I uphold even the smallest sparks of my sanity present—it's best to do it as soon as possible." She extended her hand toward Skadi.

"...Okay," Skadi took it, "what are you teaching this time?" Deep down, she was glad to have one of her kind still walking amongst dry-land.

"...How familiar this is," she hadn't answered the other's question, but closed her eyes as if she were taking in the spring's eastern breeze, "to answer your astute question, one of beauty, and one of survival."

Skadi could already tell what the second one would be, but kept silent. All that was present in her mind was when the shark lady would start to lose control of her mind, and it was usually during time periods after these lessons or disguised training matches which those bouts had occurred. Still, she could rest easy, as it didn't occur while she was in the "flow of things," as Kal'tsit had described from observations.

"One, two, and three... this is..." Laurentina's voice continued to draw out while her hands held Skadi's arm, while the latter reciprocated the same motion, "so... familiar..."

"Familiar...?" Skadi whispered, had she remembered such an activity from her Captain? It seemed like the member of the Second Company's memories drifted away and back to her on some lonesome whenever it wanted to.'Just what happened back in that valley?'

"Have you ever seen a star shine so brightly?" She suddenly asked.

"Uhm?" Skadi let out a low hum of confusion as her steps continued to move, "have I ever gazed upon the sky?"

"And seen the stars above?"

"I have..."

"Then you must know," Laurentina continued to speak in a soft voice, "what it's like to compare each and every sparkle of those bodies up above—the unattainable heights even to our own."

"..."

"But did you know? Perhaps you do, but even the brightest stars which are dressed in the sky's most prized light are bound to fade away at some point." Her steps moved in tandem with Skadi's own, the latter having already done this activity over the course of her stay in Rhodes Island, looking over Laurentina.

"They are."

"And yet I just so happened to stumble upon one of the brightest—nay—the brightest of them all." Laurentina continued to lucidly recall that one day, upon the mattress of a creaking bed and the caress of the approaching night, "so delicate. So immeasurable. Every day I see it, it grows just ever brighter, where I believed it would come to be the world's illumination itself."

"..."

"So—the spark grew, and it grew, and it grew. What happens next? What would it become? Aha... oh how much of a hapless endeavor it was of me to simply look and admire it from a distance," her voice soon crawled to bed, lowering into one of... sorrow? "Did you know? At the end, it became indisputably the greatest light I have ever borne witness to in this black universe, one so pure that I could only see perfection through my lens."

"Perfection." Skadi repeated. That wasn't something she would have ever expected.

"Even then, the most boundless of stars are destined to become naught but an all-consuming darkness. Once their life had burnt into nothing but particles and ash—all that would remain is a hole in the world itself—which would consume everything in its wake. It was... such a shame, I grieve every time I recall it. The brightest star, reduced to the dullest black." The gaping maw of that blackhole was still infinitely present in her mind when she closed it, the beast which stood behind its Sovereign with a heavenly etched blade in wrist.

"..."

"But oh... it's almost as if I were watching an opera show," Laurentina chuckled once more, while her eyes remained closed, "another light, greater than even the last, prospers forth when I believed all to have been lost. How could it have come to be? How could a phenomenon be explained with logic? I do not know. It was a miracle. All those past months... had been a miracle."

"..."

"The pure lands, a city as mundane as it appeared, yet the sentimental value it held was uncontested. There was emotion, anger, longing, sadness, and desire that I saw for the first time—present and bare in front of my eyes. I wanted to reach out to it in this light, as I believed to have finally understood it."

"..."

"I wished to be part of this pure land, to admire the light in front of me that had dragged itself from even time and space themselves. It was all like a dream fabricated from my mind, and yet... At the same time, I could see it bringing itself into reality. Do you think it's delusional of me to believe that?"

"...No."

"That's funny..." Laurentina chuckled while her steps continued to move graciously in unison with Skadi, as if they were kin by the closest blood—and indeed they were. "I never belonged to such a land in the first place."

"..."

"I was never worthy, because I had never tribulated enough to reach it, and grasp it in my hands—to hold it as close as I could to my chest." The memories were a fleeting one, but for once in her life she could see the unadulterated beauty of what healing truly felt like, and all the art which had come with it. "So... next time... I hope you heed my words, Orca."

"...!" Skadi could feel a strange pressure overcome her, not from the tightened hands of her dance partner, but from the distinct change in the environment. At the center of it, "Shark... you're losing control again." She mirthlessly muttered while staring at the wide open eyes of two separate worlds.

Solemnly, Laurentina's hands clasped together in a prayer as she looked upwards, still holding Skadi's own, "because I will reach for that land—no matter the length I have to pursue."

She knew what this was. The change in demeanor and the flickering of her orbs which had told two distinct stories. Even if she had learned most of what the other woman had experienced through vague retelling during this day, it was without a doubt that she would have to save registering them for another time. Skadi's hand slowly reached for her longsword hanging loosely from her shoulder and toward her waist—because the second "dance" was about to ensue.

One that desperately reached for new heights in strength through trial.

OOO*

"It's rather strange, the history of her body says that there should have been more Originium in her spinal cord as compared to what we have now, but that isn't the case." Kal'tsit tapped the paper with her index knuckle once and settled it down on her office table, "it's almost as if it had decreased at some point—but I am not so inclined to believe that."

"You already know of our physiology," a second figure was present inside the room as she stepped forward with profound grace only seen in the greatest of warriors. She bore red eyes and white hair, just as any hunter of the deep would, but this one held a gait which was unrivalled even amongst them, "it wouldn't be implausible to assume that her body had fought off a scant few of them. Maybe, even to the extent of the reduction, she can be considered an exception amongst even ourselves."

"An exception," Kal'tsit breathed out, "an exception indeed. Her rate of growth has been staggering over the recent years, to say the least. What would you say of it, Gladiia?" She remembered all of the broken training rooms that had to be renovated in order to accommodate a certain insane—ahem—excitable Shark that had been taken into Rhodes Island.

Gladiia, the Captain of the Second Company had completely stepped forward, "it's endearing to know my student and member has never once let her fangs dull. Although, the prospect of her mind has always been an ailing thought."

"Based on my assumptions, whatever drives Specter to practice every day is in relation to whatever the effects of both Originium and stress have had on her mind. The instances of her other self appearing as she describes it can be also theorized to be part of whatever had inflicted her. In short, the events back in the valley would be a turning point to understand this predicament more clearly, but as it stands—Specter does not seem to be in the state to recall what had happened—aside from brief moments of recollection."

"That's about as accurate as it can be, but do you need to repeat it in full length?" Gladiia crossed her arms as she stared out the window Kal'tsit was, but from where she was at instead of the Lynx's location, "but I believe I can trust your words. Whoever had brought Shark to her knees in such a decrepit state... I will make sure to pay them back in full. For now, a certain Church and their dealings should be more of my focus. We are wholly unaware of who had been in combat with her after all."

"I can't disagree with that, but you'd best be steady against this mysterious person. Especially with their assumed capabilities of subjugating Specter," Kal'tsit closed her eyes, "aside from that, will you reveal yourself to those two soon?" Whether this mysterious person was connected to the Church of the Deep or not was still a mystery.

"Not now, the time isn't ripe," Gladiia shook her head.

"Then when?" The Lynx turned around and asked, "I believe most of your excursions against the Church and search forthatlost country would be much more fruitful than with what plans you have situated at the moment."

"Once she has recovered, then. Is that more of a clear answer?" The swordfish Aegir's tone continued to be measured against the other person in the room. She would achieve this goal along with another one, but as she had said before—the time wasn't ripe.

"A more concise one, but it leaves much to be desired," Kal'tsit replied, "then I am sure you'll be happy with Specter's progress."

"Hmph," a small flash of pride overcame the corner of Gladiia's lips, but she reined it in, "with her astonishing progress, even I am starting to believe myself to be an inadequate Captain for her—therefore I must match her rhythm in turn."

"The same goes for Skadi, I believe." Kal'tsit could see the edges of the horizon start to become clear as the rumbling of Rhodes Island's advancement toward its destination continued to hum a small tune.

"Ah, yes, Skadi. A member of the Second and a member of the Third... to see them working in tandem had always been a rather rare occurrence, but with how the numbers have been shortened as of now..."

"Then you'll need as much help as you can get. Change of ideals?"

"I merely plan, just as any competent Designer of warfare would."

"I see," Kal'tsit nodded, "then something else I would like for you to have a look at are the items scrounged in Specter's recent living quarters. Aside from her medical room." She turned around and reached for her drawer, pulling it open and taking out the items from it. A small journal, some white papers with illustrations on them, and a golden bladed object which held a mysterious energy. "Take a look."

Gladiia raised a curious brow as she received them, "and these are...?" The first object she had analyzed were the illustrations written on the white papers, now stained with writing materials meant for smudging, "what a peculiar depiction." She continued to scan it over. On one of the illustrative papers was a scribbled mess which outlined four pairs of eyes, bent and distorted in a way that looked to be one belonging to a demon.

The other one was just as messy as the other one, but comparatively, the depiction could be made out much more clearly. A twisted humanoid(?) being stood on both legs, with the face and head being the most visible part. There were no eyes that could be seen from the scribbles, and it looked as if six wings were spread out from its face into a vast expanse—a reptilian tail(?) could also be seen protruding from the back. The most distinct parts however, were the gaping smile which radiated unmistakeable malevolence, and the pure white wheel which had completely contrasted with the ebony shades.

"A Sea Terror?" That was the best assumption Gladiia could come up with when she saw it, "what could it relate to?"

"We do not know. Yet." Kal'tsit said, and watched as the other woman placed them down and started to flip through the journals. "In the journals are short 5-7-5 syllable stanza poems, along with some which break the norm of the syllable scheme. A key point to consider is also its vivid imagery of nature and the season. When tracing back its origins, it is undoubtedly a collection of original Haiku poems, and the concept of Haikus has also originated from Higashi."

"Poems." Gladiia continued to flip through the book. Most of them were most likely memorized from a different source, as it wouldn't match Laurentina's character from what she had remembered, "I wouldn't doubt she has a fondness for this particular art, but not to this extent." Along nearly all of the pages, hundreds... Maybe even thousands of poems were neatly organized.

...Some of them even sounded romantic, which she assumed was more based on interpretation than anything else.

"Be that as it may, however she gained such a hobby is out of my concern. Though, a firm connection could be made with whoever had instilled it could also relate toward a set chain of events that had led up to that valley," Kal'tsit said.

Gladiia set down the objects she had already analyzed. She didn't know what to make of them rather than that they could have some connection to the church—with the four eyes and six-winged face being the biggest connecting thread toward them, "and this is...?" Her hand finally came to an object, a small golden blade which looked like it had been snapped off from a larger object.

There was a strange energy coming off of it that both residents of the room could feel, along with the frequent golden sparks that would undulate statically from the object in intervals. It rubbed against her black gloves, making the swordfish Aegir narrow her eyes in a more contemplative stare.

Now where had Laurentina gotten an object such as this?

"How this small blade was forged and tempered is beyond Rhodes Island's capability to replicate or fully understand," Kal'tsit was blunt with her words, "just like with everything else that we have observed so far, it is up to speculation on the object's deeper meaning. Or implications. The only thing known fully about the broken blade is that its material is composed purely of Iberia's special gold. Namely, the one used in the Stultifera Navis."

"Too lacking for any inferences, what a shame. But the last part is intriguing with the prospect it brings" Gladiia heaved a sigh as she placed the object down, "a fine piece. Whether it is a spoil from whatever opponent she had faced or a small trinket gained from wherever she had come from—whatever meaning that can be derived from it would hopefully make our search more easier."

"Indeed," Kal'tsit nodded, "I believe that's all I needed for you to look at. For now, I have to prepare for other events which pertain to me."

Gladiia was about to give a word of agreement toward the doctor, but stopped when a low rumble was heard. Where it originated from was already obvious to the woman and Kal'tsit, because there were only a scant few people who could cause such a gargantuan ruckus in Rhodes Island.

"...I believe that may be my cue," the Lynx almost felt the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.

The Aegir only nodded in response, ungiving of her opinion on the current matter.

OOO*

Something clacked atop the table that Megumi was sitting on, making him turn upwards to glance at who had done so. It was a woman with white hair, adorned with the horns of a Sarkaz, and two antennas that make him think of some unruly species that originated back on Earth, along with being something that also existed on Terra. He opened his mouth to address her not long after.

"W?" Megumi glanced around the little tavern meant for mercenaries, a rather unspoken rule that had been delegated for the place, "what do you want this time?" He had stumbled upon it while surveying the entire slums with both his Shikigamis and himself to get a better feel of what it was like, and the key vantage points for both information and places to hide.

"Come on, you already know," W, the Sarkaz, gave a toothy smile with one hand on her hip, and the other one was pressed on the table; her finger tapping against the object she had placed down. "You made this little gun be able to fire with just a pull of its trigger, I've been finding it quite enjoyable to use, you know? Come on, you said you could even make it pack more of a punch—just say the amount and I'll pay for it."

Megumi looked down at the black carbine that had been placed on the desk—he didn't know the specific name or type—which he was sure had drawn the gazes of every single resident in the tavern. Thankfully, the woman in front of him knew how to modulate her voice to lower levels, "I already made it functional for free, and you're willing to pay for something I could have been lying about?" He decided to play Devil's Advocate for himself, because he was far too bored with his day than to do anything else.

It had been pure chance that he encountered the Sarkaz woman in this place when he had discovered it, and bore witness to the gun hanging by the back of her hips. For some unutterable reason, Megumi felt the need to inquire about the firearm on her persons, which hadn't been too friendly that time. It was only settled when he claimed he could make the weapon function without a Sankta's inborn Arts control over firearms, which had piqued her interest.

It was simply to see if he was still rusty in creating Cursed Tools or not, especially with a more complex application that made a weapon fire off condensed Cursed Energy rather than anything else. The only other addition he put into the firearm was Tiger Funeral's flames and Nue's electricity, which amped up the condensed Cursed Energy function of the firearm in order to add more piercing and explosive power—all at once.

"Oh come on," W rolled her eyes playfully, "you just gotta summon that sweet golden wheel of yours above your head, make it spin or something, and viola! The magic works itself." She was far too interested in his craftsmanship abilities after seeing it in play, and the weapon that she had been utilizing for the past two weeks had grown on her, even if it didn't have the same explosive power as her grenade launcher. "Don't downplay yourself in front of me, Megumi. I can already tell."

"Whatever," Megumi rolled his eyes, "how much are you paying anyways?" He kept his voice low, and that had been a constant ever since W had arrived in order to not catch any unscrupulous people's interests. In fact, he had already discreetly raised up a small Curtain using Barrier Techniques to make sure their conversation didn't leak out, his whispering voice was just a habit of his.

"50,000 LMD, how about that?" W said, "I'm willing to pay a hefty price for this." After all, what use for money did she have other than buying good enough tools and assets to live for another day? Commodities were the last thing she could ever care about with how her history dictated her present life.

Megumi recounted the number in his head, "50,000 LMD?" Now that number brought back some memories to him.

"What's so funny? Not enough for you?" W questioned, she hadn't missed the brief moment of amusement that overcame his features before it had completely vanished into thin air.'As stoic as ever, I see? Eh, that's to be expected from this brick wall of a sea urchin.'

"Nothing. It's nothing to be concerned over," Megumi waved her off while using his other hand to cover his mouth, "the number just brought back some memories." After all, the first ever mercenary commission he had finished back in Lungmen was that exact number. Where have the times gone? "I'll do it then. Of course, you better not be shooting innocents with your new toy," he agreed to her terms, but not before giving her a small warning in-between his words.

"Ah, come on, you know in this line of work that small acceptable losses are just an unfortunate happening, right?" W joked toward him, but hadn't seen a smidgen of a change across his deadpan features, "ok—alright! Fine, I'll make sure to not kill innocents with your oh-so-valuable "works of art," does that sound good enough?" Seriously, she could tell he was a trained killer just from his demeanor, it was better not to get tangled up with a mess like him. Some fights you just gotta turn away from.

"If you pay me 75,000 LMD, then I can also enhance your grenade launcher," Megumi suddenly spoke up again, "if you follow the previous term I set up, after all."

"Seriously?" She perked up at that, "how can you even be so sure I won't dip from this place and shoot up some innocents elsewhere?"

"Do you want to test that?" Megumi propped his chin on his palm while tapping his finger on the table.

"Sheesh, calm down hero," W rolled her eyes while sighing, "no insult, but I don't think this sort of business fits you."

"No offense taken," Megumi replied, "also, you've got one fact wrong."

"And what's that?"

"I was never in this business in the first place."

OOO*

Strange people, Terra was just filled with them, and he had to wonder how many more he would encounter in his remaining lifetime. But then again, Jujutsu Society has also had its fair share of deranged Jujutsu Sorcerers that he had to deal with, along with Curse Users that he had to sort out. When ruminating through that idea once more, Megumi had to halt his steps in order to take it into consideration... just how many times he had found himself traveling to such thoughts when he had nothing better to do.

'...Practically aliens, wasn't that what I thought of them?' The title he had once given toward the people of Terra had not been completely lost on him, 'I need to abandon that thinking.' He needed to abandon it, just as he had abandoned the suicidal tendencies that came with summoning an untamed Mahoraga when the situation looked unwinnable.

Megumi continued to skulk through the alleyways of the slums. There were many buildings around him and dilapidated walls stained with stains of various types. He couldn't discern whichever they were, and he didn't really care much about them. What he did care about however, was making sure that his feet did not step upon the littered black bags strewn across everywhere.

The putrid pungence invading his nose wasn't a bother. The Jujutsu Sorcerer had already bore the stink of what it was like to walk into a room filled with nothing but corpses and splattered blood. Ah, right, he had recovered his sense of taste and smell after becoming proficient enough in Reverse Cursed Technique's many applications—while also studying the biology of the brain. Granted, it was much harder to do so with the many differences between a Terran and an Earthling's brain.

His thoughts were accompanied with the echoing shouts of the streets that were away from where the alleyways which he traversed through. Only a small hint of light bled through, as the structures surrounding him were tall enough to nearly blot out the sun in its entirety. Electric lights were flickering with frequent sparks coming from them, and neon signs which held practically no use were also undergoing the same experience as its compatriots were.

Whatever conflicts were occurring, he wished would just blow away in the calm breeze. But he'd be damned if that was how the world worked, because it wasn't. It was an unfortunate fact that he had come to accept no matter how much it continued to batter him physically or emotionally. No matter how many wounds he healed with Positive Energy, or how many times he fell back on a Jujutsu Sorcerer's mentality...

...He felt as if this one premonition would hurt the most.

Amongst the vibrancy of hell shimmering in a burning pot ready to boil over, his two hearts constricted—with a singular one beating the loudest amongst the two.

OOO*

"Hey! Bonebreaker, er, is that your name or something? Kinda forgot." W called out toward a gas-masked boy with a lofty tone, waving a small radio in the air, "Crownslayer here wishes to speak to you about—something. I don't know, she never told me." She knew how the Reproba viewed her, and was most likely hesitant to reveal whatever "crucial" information to her. Her opinion? 'Whatever.'

"It's Skullshatterer, you buffoon." The now named Skullshatterer grunted out from his mask as he set down the two grenade launchers on his workbench. The other assistants of his squadron backed away as he stepped out from his seat, and approached W, "what does Crownslayer want?" Last minute messages delivered just as they were about to storm Chernobog was sort of a pet-peeve for him—or it had become a pet peeve with how many he had received in the recent hours, and even days.

"I dunno," W kept waving it in the air, "if you wanna know just take it, c'mon. Actually, hey, think fast!" It was then an idea sprung up in her head that possessed her to smile jokingly and then toss the radio toward Skullshatterer with barely any warning.

"Che," Skullshatterer let out a noise, "whatever. Crownslayer, are you in? What do you want?" His voice cut to the chase as his head turned away from Talulah.

"Skullshatterer, I need you to keep watch of somebody in Chernobog, if they match the description I give.'The voice of Crownslayer came through the radio through slight static, but it was clear enough to be heard.

"What's warranting this? Are they that important?" Skullshatterer pressed, "give me a comparison to give on how much of a threat they can be."

"Enough to subdue an entire Chernobog police squadron with ease. Close to Talulah or FrostNova, maybe."

"Is that an overestimation?" Skullshatterer didn't seem impressed at all. To be more accurate, he didn't believe in such an assessment in the first place.

"Would you rather be over-prepared for something or be under-prepared for something?"

"I know where you're coming from, but all he's done is... what? Make a bunch of the police float in the air?" Skullshatterer scoffed, "compared to our commanders, that's just a paltry trick."

"...Whatever," Crownslayer's voice bled through with annoyance, "knock yourself out."

The line ended there.

"Tch..." He pulled the radio away from himself and tossed it back to W without a single warning, which the recipient caught without much of a fuss.

"So?" she chirped, "what was that all about?"

"Some Arts Caster Crownslayer found," Skullshatterer's voice was then filled with sarcasm, "apparently on the level of Talulah or FrostNova—apparently."

"Oh well~ if they're assumed to be that strong by Crownslayer, then we'd ought to look out," W shrugged with mirth, "what do you say?"

"Don't tell me you actually believe her. Oh who am I kidding? Somebody like you probably would."

"Really? I think you have a sorry misunderstanding of me. Still, is Crownslayer really just saying whatever or can this new mysterious... guy? Gal? Pull something off like Talulah and FrostNova can?"

"Apparently he can make a bunch of the Chernobog police float. Is that a good enough answer for you?"

"Eh? Isn't that just a table trick those Leithanians do?"

"Probably, now if you'll excuse me... I have things to work on." Skullshatterer turned away. But before he could make it back to his workbench and order his men to send W away, the devilish Sarkaz cut in.

"Oh~! By the way, how's your two grenade launchers doing?"

"What...?" Skullshatterer turned around, raising an eyebrow from under his gas mask, "why are you asking this?"

"Aha, nothing much," W tapped her fingers on her own launcher, the object which had been hung behind herself along with a carbine rifle, "I just think compared to mine yours are kinda... How should I say this? Subpar? Inferior? Which word do you like more?"

"If you're attempting to provoke me..." Skullshatterer's voice lowered.

"What if I am?" W questioned with a faux meek voice, but the smile betrayed her tone.

He fell for the bait, "then do you want to put your money where your mouth is?" His voice immediately shot out toward the woman in indignation.

"Sure." W smiled widely. It had completely worked.'Poor brittle bones never stood a chance.'

OOO*

There was chaos outside of the apartment that he usually stayed in. Usually, nobody would ever approach its confines as there was a Curtain he placed over it which was crafted by Binding Vows. In turn for being a signal which can be detected by Jujutsu Sorcerers or people with Cursed Energy all across the world, it became extremely undetectable to those who didn't possess Cursed Energy.

It would be useful for Heavenly Restriction users, as they relied on their senses. Even then, Megumi was sure somebody like Maki would be able to notice the minute differences and strange sensations if she were nearby, considering just how potent of a Heavenly Restriction user she is.

For the people of Terra who possessed no Cursed Energy but... another strange energy that he hadn't been able to fully understand other than that they came from this world's connection to the miracle cancer rocks known as Originium—the Binding Vow had also accounted for them. So unless it was a country's elite, then Megumi was confident that anybody passing through the street would be driven away from approaching his apartment.

'I guess that's how Mostima found where I was despite giving vague instructions,' Megumi mused in his mind while staring outside. Although the Curtain he placed over the structure prevented people from having thoughts of approaching it, that didn't mean stray hits that weren't intended for the building would also be diverted.

It was more of a mental suggestion thing utilizing advanced Barrier Techniques that he had improvised. Every single Barrier Technique application that he could think of had been silently trained ever since he had unlocked his Domain Expansion's Sure-Hit effect along with its own Barrier. Scrounging up whatever muscle memory or experience from Ryomen Sukuna had also helped—along with the long discussion sessions the King of Curses would hold with pseudo-Geto, also known as Kenjaku.

'What a mess,' Megumi continued watching the scene of the rioters causing a scene.'A scene...? No, that's an understatement,' the black-haired man continued to narrow his eyes in perturbation. They looked like terrorists more than anything with their white clothing and militaristic black vests placed over their chests. It didn't help that they were armed either...

It was then that a small sense of realization overcame him. Hellagur's words. For only a split second, his mind came back to the recent crevices of his memories and what the Hippogryph had said, which were in relation to the Infected riots having been labelled as a greater threat by recent news and the government of Chernobog. He hadn't checked the news recently, but he was more inclined to believe the wise soul's words more than anything with how knowledgeable he seemed of this city's climate.

'Just how long has this been going on for?'The recent weeks and perhaps even a month had been a blur to him as he continued to lethargically move on with his life, so he hadn't been paying too much attention to his surroundings aside from scenes that really stuck out to him. Either that, or targets which he was hellbent on reaching. 'Riots and protests were common before, but not to this degree.'

Placing a hand over his mouth and deliberating over what to do, Megumi could have sworn he saw something familiar on the outfits of some of the people participating in the riots. Furthermore, their uniforms and outfits held a commonality between all of them, denoting that they must have been part of a larger organization rather than being a community that had gathered together.

'A double-helix?' Megumi swore he could remember that symbol somewhere, but it had become somewhat blurry in his mind. 'Where have I seen that before? Or was it something I've heard of in passing?' His head started to ache as he attempted to recall the memory, and an aid of Cursed Energy further enhanced his reaction time and thinking processes. Eventually, he was able to remember something.

'The tundras. Wasn't there a discussion back then on what Reunion's symbol should be?'It all clicked in his mind when he thought back to Ursus,'wait... didn't they also want to travel south in order to reach better lands? Where spring could be seen again?'He remembered the words of Talulah, before the pieces of the puzzle had been connected—each by their own diversified shapes.

"Then that has to mean... they're Reunion," Megumi lowered his hand as he stared at the rioters with newfound clarity, "then that must mean they have a feud with Chernobog." They had talked about wanting to claim a Nomadic City to provide for their increasing numbers, so it only made sense.

Well, he had no qualms with them and whatever they did with Chernobog. As long as they left the innocents alone and didn't target them—which he trusted enough from Talulah, FrostNova, and Patriot if he remembered their characters correctly—then the Jujutsu Sorcerer wouldn't intervene in anything. Despite the scene of chaos unravelled on a stage in front of him, Megumi had that much trust in their characters.

After all, taking over a Nomadic City would inevitably lead to violence, especially with the local authorities and the military. A thought came to him that he should visit the newly developed Reunion, as the waves of time were bound to change how they were at the moment, but held back on that thought. Would it even matter if he saw them again? Or was this just a small wish from himself to see how things were?

Well, it didn't matter. He was going to leave the city anyways, that much was already predestined with how his plans were. Maybe this was his cue to leave it faster with the near anarchic scene that he was shown, in order to not be involved with whatever mess was produced from this unholy blender.

Even then, despite the logical decisions and avenues of actions to undertake in his mind in regards to avoiding this brewing conflict, Fushiguro Megumi couldn't help but imagine the entire situation was more than it seemed. While "patiently" watching what was happening outside his apartment, he had decided once more to stay in Chernobog for the duration of what was happening.

...And yet again would the world play another cruel joke for him.

OOO*

Some days later...

"Any people of interest?" Talulah stared at the large map of Chernobog plastered on the wide table in front of her, with a multitude of markings spread across it for key points and directions. It was a piece forged by both the leader of Reunion and a once mighty Wendigo who had led the fronts of Ursus to traverse unknown lands.

"Not that... I am aware of..." Patriot's hoarse voice broke through the confines of the darkness as he overlooked the map alongside his daughter, FrostNova. "Crownslayer has her own... and the rest... most likely have theirs..." His gaze turned toward the rest of the commanders for the slightest of moments, namely Skullshatterer for one.

In response, the boy in the gas mask discreetly lowered his gaze on the map, a flame of determination burning deep inside his heart.

Crownslayer simply kept silent with her arms crossed. She could have never disposed of that image which had become a part of her long-term memory, even to the point where it would come back to her like a bad omen, time and time again. It shouldn't have been this way, being affected negatively by one obscure person...

W to her side gave an all-knowing look while the Reproba continued to keep silent. When the Sarkaz's gaze turned toward Skullshatterer, the boy under the mask simply scoffed and looked away from her. Everybody noticed such behavior, and the little devil relished in it.

"Aside from that mystery person Crownslayer felt such the need to alert us all about it. We have the mayor to go after too, don't we?" Mephisto's voice was heard amongst the blooming silence that came. He didn't miss the glare she had sent his way for the sarcastic remark.

"No," Patriot's voice was firm and made Mephisto shut his mouth with a disappointed expression, "the military... is much more formidable... than usual. There had been... an event where an eight-headed... serpent had threatened the land."

Everybody in the room had heard the news. It was a strange and absurd one to learn about, especially when looking at the video footage there was of it. However, the incident had happened ages ago, and there was no need to bother themselves over something occurring in the past which possessed zero signs of ever appearing again.

"So in turn the city has been much more fortified than usual in the past coming years," Talulah finished it for Patriot. "Whatever happens to the mayor is out of our direct hands, especially with the guards that are predicted to surround him. Either the Catastrophe takes his life or the crowd we have gathered will."

"That's a way to look at it," W tossed a remote upwards and caught it lazily, "would save us a lot of time, eh?"

"Exactly," the Draco curtly replied.

FrostNova stayed silent. She had already become used to Talulah's ever growing cold attitude, but it still bothered her to an extent.

"For now... breaking through the... military will be our... top priority." Patriot's Originium-ruined throat kept paving forward, "everything else that comes after... is secondary."

Skullshatterer and Mephisto on both ends looked somewhat displeased, but they agreed quickly toward the Wendigo's words. After all, there was no arguing with somebody as experienced as him—they would just have to fulfill their personal agendas in Chernobog after the conditions were perfect for Reunion to completely take over.

"In regards... to the children gathered... over the land we have... taken." All attention turned toward Patriot once more, "gather them all... to Peterheim. Mephisto, the charge is... left to you... make sure no unnecessary deaths... occur. Are we clear?" Despite the damage sustained over the years, his voice was still a low rumble which shook all to their core.

"Of course!" Mephisto readily replied with a smile. Unbeknownst to everybody—he had already found a "loophole" within a Patriot's words...'no unnecessary deaths, sure, that's doable.'Of course, he had other plans for the students off in Peterheim. He elbow nudged Faust by his side, the latter not necessarily knowing what it meant, so the crossbow commander was left nodding in confusion.

Talulah chimed in this time, "then—I believe all of our roles have been assigned. Any more objections, changes, or suggestions?" She scanned the room toward everybody present, whether they had talked or not during the meeting. Without anybody speaking up about the matter, the Draco held a satisfied berth, "then everybody. Get into your designated areas, we are hereby bringing Chernobog into Reunion—the Infected's hands." Her hand raised upwards and slammed onto the table, sending a reverberating sound across the room.

Mephisto smiled from ear to ear, while Faust turned toward the former, one of the only paths that he knew.

Crownslayer who had her arms crossed let out a sigh, both of relief and some displeasure, but the ridicule she had faced from the white devil not too far away from her would most likely become a thing of the past. There was no use getting too irritated with it.

W tapped her fingers against the grenade launcher and carbine hanging from her back, wondering just how the weapons would hold up. She was especially excited after having put Skullshatterer in his place... and also meet acertaingroup that she had heard was most likely going to pay Chernobog a visit.

FrostNova let out a chilly sigh, but the frost which would have amounted from it was far more tame than even she could have ever expected. For the past two years or so, her body temperature had almost become a non-factor to her problems, and it had only been progressing at a slow pace. For how such a thing happened... nobody knew, aside from wild theories being thrown around about her own Originium eating itself or her systems being an exception among exceptions.

Patriot was as steady as he always had been. No winds would sway or topple his domineering form, especially not at such a crucial time as this. Despite his qualms and vices with the actions that were destined to happen—much to his chagrin—there was no other way to look other than forward.

A cost.

A price.

He knew, deep inside...

That Reunion would pay for it.

OOO*

Megumi sat in a breakroom for Azazel Clinic, one that Hellagur often frequented when everything had been settled for the day. For himself, the black-haired man hung his doctor's coat on a clothes stand and sat down on one of the many plentiful couches in order to give his mind and body a brief moment of respite.

He could feel as if there was a running river passing through acres of dirt, rock, and stone. The soothing sounds that would come from it invaded his ears and went into his imagination. Every piece of it was up to his mind's interpretation, letting him forge a flaccid world where his leniency could roam free.

"A tough day was it?"

Megumi heard Hellagur's voice from the other side of the room, before replying, "sort of."

"I hope it wasn't much from the clinic," the Hippogrypgh was running his index finger across the many books atop the shelf from where he stood.

"It's never from the clinic, you don't have to be worried about that," he responded.

"That's a pleasure to hear. Treating patients for many could be stressful work which requires patience."

"Mmh, just happy to help," Megumi kept his eyes closed as his thoughts continued to wander. "Also... I forgot to mention, but the streets today are rather..."

"They've been plagued with some conflict," Hellgur completed it for him as he pulled out a book from the shelves, "I'm afraid all we can do is pray that it does not escalate further. For protest signs and raised voices could become rocks and stones to Molotovs and bombs."

"...That doesn't sit well with me."

"I doubt it would for many. In case of such anarchy coming our way, I'm afraid that the long life of rest I've had would be washed away in a heap of flames. What would you say for yourself?"

"That's... about the same as what I feel like, too," Megumi let out a sigh before sitting upwards, pressing his thumb against his forehead while his brows pressed downwards. "It's just that... I don't know... something feelswrong." He was used to running away at this point and avoiding conflict altogether, especially with how long he had been able to keep his peace.

"It is only natural. Humor me for a moment."

"I will."

"When trouble often comes your way, which I assume to be a common case for you, then a certain sense develops in detection of such troubles. Would you agree with that?" Hellagur's finger traced across the open book.

"I would agree with that," Megumi said. From a glance when he had first met Hellagur, the aged man was already a kind of experienced soldier in his eyes—his mannerisms and eyes just gave it all away.'The same also applied to me.'He was also sure Hellagur saw through him at a first glance too.

"Then we ought to follow it, shouldn't we?"

Megumi took a second to let his words sink in... before opening his eyes and letting clarity take him once more, "you're right. I should probably see how everything's been developing outside—especially with how my apartment looks right now." He stood up from his couch, "I'll come back to the clinic to check up on you and the patients, I wish you the best of luck here." Internally, he prayed that his senses were betraying him, but when has it ever?

"Good luck to you too, young man." Hellagur nodded deftly, "we both have our own causes to look after. All I hope is that we meet again someday. Safe travels, Fushiguro Megumi. Maybe then I could teach you more Ursus history, I would love to hear more about the Higashinese culture from you."

"...Thanks, old man Hellagur."

"It's rare to find a Higashinese man here in Ursus," a nostalgic air came off of Hellagur as he turned toward Megumi, "I'm glad it was somebody like you."

Megumi didn't know what to say, especially not when his hand was on the knob of the door. Even after only a few months of spending his time in the underground, the slums, and the deepest parts of Ursus—he couldn't help but find as if he was leaving something behind. Until the end, when he exited the clinic, the black-haired man didn't have any words to give back. Only a silent grievance that Fate still seemed to hold its cruel eyes on him.

If that was the case, then he'd go against it.

OOO*

Everything had gone to shit.

Megumi's eyes stood atop his apartment once more as his head looked everywhere, from the north to the south, and from the east to the west. Everything was in chaos, along with the large coat of fires that had been sprouting in the slums. Wherever he looked in the city of Chernobog, there would always be something that told him what he needed to know of the city's current state.

With only a few hours spent traveling to Azazel Clinic and doing his daily duties... This much of a mess had already been lit aflame despite what he remembered a few days ago, or what he had seen this morning. Despite the aggressive happenings outside of his apartment, the black-haired man hadn't expected everything to escalate so fast to the point where it looked like almost the entire city had been ransacked.

'What...? How could...'He had to reassess what he knew while hiding at his vantage point. While surveying, he processed everything he knew,'this isn't an incited riot, this whole thing was planned...'Megumi's thoughts continued to form in a spiral and dig deep into his brain what he had feared the most.'They're Reunion. I already know that. Then that means this entire operation has been executed by them in a planned manner, that's how the fuse could have been ignited so fast.'

There were yells of profanity and crashing of objects that he could hear, along with cars incessantly swerving to the side or ramming into bodies. Once upon a time, it would have been difficult to concentrate with such sounds pestering him, but he had already become used to being in the center of a crimson maelstrom such as this.

His finger pressed against his forehead as his brows continued to crease in displeasure,'they have integrity. That much I know. They wouldn't order a mass slaughter such as this. Not toward the civilians. At worst, they would only target the military. At most, they would give citizens the chance to evacuate. Even when a member deserted, Talulah was willing to let them go without even a slap on the wrist. So why...? What happened? Why is it like this?'

The clamoring of the world beneath his feet continued to scream their decadent howls, filling in together with the screams of agony which begged for a god to come down and save them. Injustice, the concept directed toward the Infected had... completely been overturned. What was once a group which could do nothing as the world put them through a visceral grinder, was now let loose to let their true colors burn underneath the pale skies.

There was his phone which had fallen to the ground, with the news headlines blaring incessantly and granting information of what was happening. Not a single lie was told from it compared to all other times—because there was nothing to lie about the situation in front.

Deaths were prominent.

The Royal Guards were injured.

The military... was bound to fall, and thus more death would be sowed.

His hand shook.

Megumi removed his fingers from his forehead as his eyes stared at the shaking part of his body. He didn't feel any anger or hatred to the degree of which he was used to. It was less than what he had felt in Ursus, back in Columbia, and back on Earth. The world around him continued to burn no matter where he went or where his gaze turned to—because Fate would not have his journey any other way than this.

A small sigh left his lips.

He just needed to do as he always had, didn't he?

It wouldn't change anything, and it never had.

It was just for himself, a small piece of indulgence for what he had been lacking. That was all this entire day would be delegated to, and Fushiguro Megumi was willing to keep it that way if he didn't want all the reparations done to his mental state to go down the drain and mingle with the sewage waste.

Good people deserved to be saved.

Bad people deserved to be killed.

It was as simple as black and white. There was no need to scrape across the barest surfaces and the deepest crevices to think over every possibility and the morality of his actions.

He felt no sorrow for this, or what he would do next. He had already moved past that point.

Because being selfish was amazing.

Being himself... was amazing.

OOO*

A civilian watched the street in front of him with bated breaths. The crowd of people behind him came from a community that he was familiar with even inside the walls of Chernobog, and they had been with each other for time immemorial.

He would have never expected a riot to turn into citywide terrorism within just the span of a few hours. Due to this, his mind had constantly been beating himself over and over again for not being able to recognize the signs with the increased riots, the news, and the rallies happening in the slums.

...But despite all of that... it was nothing compared to what he was looking at.

The entire city block which he had been running down with the aforementioned small community that he belonged to was painted red. Splatters of blood lined every inch of the structures, while weapons and equipment of various kinds laid destroyed on the cracked concrete. Some of the observers could have also sworn there were severed heads planted into the mini-craters formed around.

At the center of it all, was a black-haired man. He wore a black Higashinese robe as he continued to absentmindedly scan the scenery and massage his wrist. That was until his gaze landed onthem, with all four eyes and black markings present on his face.

A primal chord of fear was struck, and all the citizens could do was freeze in place.

Not even a second later, the person who had slaughtered all of the people who should have been wreaking havoc at the city block stepped forward and vanished from view—only reappearing once more in front of the man at the forefront of the group. Suffice to say, the citizen was scared to the point where he was about to lose his mind.

"A-ah... I sir..." The dread was overwhelming. It made all of his nerves lock up in place and caused him to stutter. Even if he had been drilled by his father many times to be a "man," he could feel his body and mind revert itself back to a toddler.

"Over there."

"Huh...?" The man who had been stuttering found himself at a loss as the black-haired man in front of him had pointed to somewhere. Mutters were also heard from behind him as the small community following along had also become dazed and confused at what he was signalling for.

"Over there. That's where the exit point for Chernobog is." The black-haired man continued to keep his finger trained toward the location while his eyes. "Get going now. I don't have all day." His gaze turned back toward the other man with an almost displeased expression.

"Y-yes sir!"

OOO*

FrostNova could admit she hadn't expected the entire thing to erupt into a volcano this fast. When walking just down a street from where she had been stationed, she could see smoke and the orange horizon just from where she stood. Signs of a Catastrophe arriving were also looming over, and the white-haired Cautus woman had come to realize just what a perfectly fulfilled plan felt like.

...Even if it was unpleasant.

"Stop, don't chase after them," she reached her hand outward toward a Yeti Squadron member, "it's only a waste of time." She had referred toward the evacuating citizens off in the distance, who were just in sight.

"Oh... I wasn't worried about them, but the other..." the Yeti Squadron member nervously pointed toward the other side, where a band of Reunion members were charging after them, ones who looked as if they were the newly added ones over the recent weeks—and who possessed the greatest killing fervor out of everybody else.

"Those...?" FrostNova let out a frosty breath while looking at the ones who had been pointed toward to. They had just come into her view as she bore witness to their raised armament, ready to lay down their judgement upon the fleeing civilians. "Tch... we have soldiers to worry about and..." Only now did she realize that they street they were at was bordering where she and Mephisto's areas of operation were—meaning that moving away from where she were at would be going against...

"...Big sis?" The Yeti Squadron member mumbled out while the other ones behind him looked toward FrostNova out of concern.

"Forget it." FrostNova's fingers clenched into a fist as she was forced to turn away, "don't kill any civilians needlessly in our area. Focus only on the military, I wouldn't have it any other way. I know I can trust you all."

The Yeti Squadron members all turned together. She didn't need to give her command, they already knew her well enough, so only one response was given to her.

"""Understood, Big Sis!"""

At the very least, she felt as if she weren't alone.

OOO*

It was just an escort mission to retrieve the Doctor from the Sarcophagus and make it out of Chernobog. The city wasn't the most stable in recent times, and that fact especially was true when it came to the

"Reunion...? But isn't this..." Amiya looked from an alleyway she was hiding in, keeping the Doctor and her team members as close to her as possible. "They're killing without any regard..." She spotted the members dressed in white with a mask that gave them anonymity. Wherever their blade followed, blood would be spilt into the open air and left splattering uselessly on the ground.

"Reunion... to think they'd go to such lengths," another voice intervened, a blonde-haired Pegasus was dressed in armor and holding a warhammer by her side as she observed the scene with the rest of her group. "Although they have a reason to be wrathful with their mistreatment... it is wholly directed at the wrong place."

"Well then, they just so happen to be blocking our route, and they're most likely not going to take kindly to us leaving if what we've experienced back there was any indicator. What do you think, Nearl, Amiya, Ace?" Another woman asked toward the now named Nearl as she brandished a black whip in her hands.

"Best to get out of this city fast—but it's as you said. Can't have these people continue to kill innocents and block our way," Ace nodded along with her, while also speaking for the rest of the group.

"Doctor," Amiya heeded the words of the many before turning toward the hooded man beside her. His body temperature was still lower than usual, and signs of physical weakness, "we've all come to a consensus." She gazed into his visor with a resolute expression, before reaching for an object. "Here, take this," there was a hand-held device that she had handed over.

"This...?" The Doctor felt all gazes turn toward him as he held the device. It had a clear screen that was black, as his finger instinctively pressed against it. One, two, and three times. Nothing happened.

...Just as the awkward scene was about to be broken, a light bled through. In a single moment, geometric patterns started to flash across the screen as it formed symbols and words, with a single digital voice coming through to speak.

"Please log in."

For a moment, the eyes of the Doctor changed as if he had been reunited with a long lost companion. Despite his lack of memories due to amnesia, a different sense started to overtake him as a strange sense of nostalgia started to invade and provoke all the nerves in his system.

Everybody present then felt as if something had changed in the scenery. There were no changes in color or a distortion in the air that was present, or even any noticeable alterations in the demeanor of the enigmatic man in front of them.

Even then, they all could feel it. What stood in front of them was no longer a confused and floundering amnesiac, but a tactician at the ready, one who would lead them to victory.

Despite the strange emotions dwelling inside of them, they all knew...that they were in the perfect hands.

OOO*

Azazel Clinic. That was where he needed to go, and its hidden location was becoming much clearer to him as he continued to dash across the city. There were many cityblock which held civilians that Megumi had decided to drop back and slaughter rampant Reunion members who waved their weapons around as if they had no mind, but he doubted it even made a significant dent in their overall numbers.

A city was wide, and he had only just made it halfway through the slums. The more he stopped to slaughter every single unreasonable Reunion member, the more time he would waste with checking up on Hellagur and Azazel Clinic's condition.

More smoke continued to rise around him along with the flames of Reunion swallowing everything in its path.

The more the echoes of destruction continued to fill the air, the more he knew that the entire situation was only escalating further.

'I need to confront them soon,'Megumi noted down in his mind. It was a difficult subject to mull over, but he had already made his decision—for a group that he thought he knew of such a Reunion—there were still many unanswered questions that he needed answered. If they weren't willing to, then he'd just have to force his way through.'But... Can I do that?'Although there were some lingering doubts.

Glancing down at his palm which no longer shook, Megumi saw as his black haori pushed itself backwards and revealed his wrist and lower arm. The markings were something he was completely used to, as it had become one with his soul and body itself as a message for him to remember until his death. Only when the Shrine Cursed Technique was activated.

'I might not be in the best shape with how much I've kept myself at bay,'his lips thinned downwards at the thought.'Screw it, I'll just bail myself out if it comes to that anyways.'Shaking his head, the Jujutsu Sorcerer let all doubts that were festering in his body be completely blown away.

He was worried about three people who could give him a hard time. Patriot, Talulah, and FrostNova.EspeciallyPatriot.

Even if they hadn't grown much in strength ever since he had last seen them—which he doubted—the three of them were still powerful opponents who could cause him a lot of trouble in the current state that he was in.

'This outfit... I haven't worn it in a long time,' Megumi dryly attempted to distract himself with all the worries that were plaguing him at the moment.'What a shitty Reunion.'He gritted his teeth as Azazel Clinic's general location came into view. With that in sight, he dispelled all of his thoughts and bursted forward with greater speed, which had left a sonic boom right behind him.

Although it might have alerted some people of his presence, the concealment application of the Ten Shadows would make sure that he wouldn't be seen. If anything, he was sure most would assume that a bomb had gone off in the sky, or that it had come from elsewhere rather than the sky with how fast the lingering effects of his outburst would fade away.

His entire surroundings became a tunnel-vision sight, but he never once lost track of the environment around him. In a blitzing movement, he came to an abrupt halt which had left the glass around him shattering and falling to the ground, before he took a turn in an alleyway. It was all untouched from the decrepit hands of chaos, but that didn't matter to him, because it wouldn't last.

The routes and turns were familiar, so Megumi kept taking them on instinct with slower speeds so he didn't topple or destroy anything on his way. For a few seconds as his mind became numb, he finally made it at the door where Azazel Clinic should be.

Entering it with a slightly frantic breath while deactivating the effects of Shrine, Megumi looked around while making his way through the hallways. There were patients who were resting or new ones who had just come in from what he could tell, and there were also some other people who worked for Hellagur who came to nervously greet them.

From the sterile air of the clinic disappearing, Megumi could already tell that the news had reached the area.

"Hellagur!" He finally called out while opening the doors leading toward where the Hippogryph would be. His assumptions were correct, "have you...?" The black-haired man would not need to complete his sentence.

"Our assumptions were correct," the old man held a different demeanor than before, and the object in his hand was different. What was a gentle hand which would normally hold books to read or think over was now grasping by his side an Odachi which reached his own height. "I'm evacuating Azazel Clinic as we speak—the news has just spread toward our location through the media."

Megumi blinked a few times at the sudden change in Hellagur, but shook his head. It was only natural, "the news..." his eyes turned toward the TV screen placed in the corner of the hallway from the area behind him, and he could already see the headlines which were present on his phone before. Masses of civilians were running away as the military of Chernobog were up in arms to combat the masses of Reunion members striking against them, and the skies up above looked the bleakest he had ever seen.

Perhaps even bleaker than when he had called upon Yamata-no-Orochi.Was this what it felt like to be on the receiving end?

How ironic.

"Will you be fine?" Megumi turned away from the screen and asked Hellagur with a worried voice.

"We'll make do, somehow." Hellagur walked toward a cabinet and opened it, "I need to gather up all the children and patients along with Neon, and then we'll be making our exit." His stern voice held a tinge of worry when mentioning them, but he powered through. "Reunion will reach this location... eventually."

"...I'll make sure they won't," Megumi thinned his lips as he turned around, "just focus on this, none of them will come your way." He was presented with the sight of all of the patients and other people inside of the hospital. Majority of them were Infected, and they didn't possess the same madness as the people of Reunion did. With just a single change in the scope of what he knew of the Infected as his world turned sober once more, the Jujutsu Sorcerer could now once more think with a slightly clearer mind.

Kill Reunion lackeys, help civilians, and support the sane Infected people.

"Young man," Hellagur's voice brought his attention back to him, "you've already done enough for us. There's no need to put yourself in the front lines."

"This isn't about asking for a favor," Megumi's voice cut back, "I just feel like it. It's selfish, and I know it. We both do. An argument here won't do us any good."

"...I see," Hellagur paused his actions as he stood up from searching the cabinets, and let out a low sigh, "you have a life ahead of you, and I hope you do not let it go to waste."

"I've already wasted the most of it," Megumi bitterly replied back, "but now... I don't think I can say I've ever come to truly regret it." Everything was out of his power, back in the past, in the present, and now—the soon to be future. "What does it matter if I add on a few more years."

"Time waits for no one. When your mind truly comes to ease and we meet once more, then I wish the best for you. Fushiguro Megumi, do you hate bloodshed?"

Megumi raised an eyebrow as he turned his head back, but not all the way. "I hate it," yet at the same time, it was the only thing which brought him purpose and that heated desire—the burning growth which had propelled him to greater heights.

"I do too. Yet here we are, our hands are forced once more in a precarious situation such as this," Hellagur's eyes were a paradox. It was both tired and invigorated, for reasons the black-haired man could not quite put his finger on, "I must say—you were the closest to a kindred spirit I've had in a long time. Go on then, pay your selfishness its due, I owe you that much with all the help you've given."

"...Thank you."

"Thank you, too. Until next time."

Megumi turned away.

Only a single desire became present in his mind as he sauntered back into the hallways and out of the view of Hellagur.

He just wished that perhaps another time—he could have spent more time in a place such as this, and hear more of the wise words that would come from Hellagur.

But as he said, time waited for no one.

He would swallow his regrets and do as he always would, and that was to indulge his selfishness... all the way.

All there was left to do was let the whims of his pleasure and displeasure guide him.

'...Reunion,'Megumi hadn't registered anybody else as he made it toward the exit door, filled once more with a newfound Curse ready to leave his lips without a single moment of hesitation.

There was nothing for him to heal at the moment, so he could dismantle anything in his path without much regret.

OOO*

W sat atop a building as her Sarkaz mercenaries did their magic at her designated area. While that was happening, she had also watched off in the distance as Skullshatterer dashed through with his group in another section and relentlessly fired off his grenade launcher, which broke through the defenses of the Chernobog military squadron that was sent to intercept them.

It was boring.

So she turned to look at what Mephisto was doing. The white-haired boy was commanding his horde as Faust and his crossbowmen assisted him in perfect and synchronized motions, making it look like they already had everything planned in a scenario such as this. They probably did, which made her even more bored.

Talulah and FrostNova... their locations and activities were obvious. Burns stuff, and freeze stuff. Turn that up a thousand notches and viola! You get what is essentially a freezer and an oven on a city-block scale—which was more than capable enough to tear through everything in front of them.

Crownslayer... eh, she was engaging Rhodes Island—wait a moment.

'Huh?'W nearly sprung upwards as her eyes widened in barely veiled excitement. The radio which she had been tossing up in the air and catching with her hand had been grasped and was nearly crushed in her grip.'Oho, it looks like they're finally in view. Let's see, little bunny and...the Doctor.'Her mind hadn't even registered the other people until after the previous two.

The sounds of battle that once rang in her ears and reminded her of where she was, the battlefield, became nothing but white noise. They were no longer a bother or anything that had caught her attention, because she had something else in mind that wasfarmore interesting than this little charade in front of her.

Whatever the rest of Reunion were doing right now no longer mattered to her. It would be best if she were to pay a few guests a visit of her own and get it over with as soon as possible so she wouldn't get an earful from—

Mahoraga: "Totality" - Garuda, God of Vigilance

(Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga Chimera Bird [Nue Great Serpent])

—The air ruptured.

A gigantic bird shot upwards in the distance, bearing six wings, a humanoid head, and a humanoid body mixed with that of a bird's. It was divine, majestic even with the way its marbled feathers flew outwards, and the way the golden wheel above its head crowned the being as something...god-like.

W blinked a few times as she saw the buildings—no,skyscrapers—collapse at the rise of such a monstrosity that she had to ask herself,'okay, what the fuck?!'She had placed her radio at her hip and pulled out her grenade launcher with an absurd look at her face at the unexpected arrival off in the distance.

The rest of Reunion shared the same sentiment from what she could see from her peripheral vision, "hey, damn! Anybody else seeing that oversized bird?!" The Sarkaz had to wonder if the colossal beast would charge her location or wherever the rest of Reunion was while yelling into her radio.

"That... that... what is that?!"The voice of Crownslayer came through as the sound of feet scraping against concrete could be heard,"I saw it... those shadows, they must be...!"

"Is that from a summoner?! Crownslayer, what are you talking about? Anybody! What the hell is that bird!"Skullshatterer's explosions from his grenade launcher came to an abrupt halt as he looked upwards with what W assumed to be astonishment andterror,"I-I... What is t-that wheel?!"

"There's no way... there's—what..? There's no way...!"Mephisto... sounded like he was having some war flashbacks, for a reason W couldn't care less to learn about, other than that the sadistic squirt had become completelyastounded.

"Mephisto..."the low voice of Faust came through this time as it shook,'it's him..."

"But how?! Why is he here? H-HOW IS HE HERE?!"The white-haired boy's voice frantically came in once more,"where is Patriot? Where is Talulah? WHERE IS FROSTNOVA?!"His voice increasingly became more panicked."G-get them here right now!"

W wanted to laugh her ass off, but she couldn't. Who the hell could do something like that when askyscraper-spanningbird that was emitting lightning from its body was charging headfirst at Reunion?! "Hey! Mephisto, now's not the time to lose your cool, 'kay?! Might as well piss your pants when we get rid of that—" bolts of electricity streaked across the scene, and the Sarkaz instinctively jumped off the building to avoid it "—goddamned BIRDY FIRST!" She could feel the air brush against her body as she came down. "And who theHELLis this person?!"

So much context was missing for her.

"Everybody, what's happening?"It was then the voice of FrostNova came through the radio this time."That sound... what is that sound?"

'Oh, so now that Cautus noticed,'W felt her legs land on the ground and cave in the sidewalk, before turning upwards to look at the bird. It had diverted off course, and was swimming through the air above where they were, sending off a strange visible wind which shattered glass.

"I-it's him, h-he's here, that guy from before, from back then...!"The voice of Mephisto continued to quiver as the sound of buildings continued to collapse in the distance, along with the streaks of lightning passing by.

"Be more clear!"Skullshatterer broke through,"be more specific! Who is this?!"

"Of course, he's that... that summoner I've been talking about!"Crownslayer's enraged voice came through,"it must have come from him, who else could it have?! You all should've—!"

God, W would have enjoyed the chaos as it was, but wasn't this indecision wouldn't start to lead to all of their deaths.

"...That wheel?! Could it just be a fluke—no, it's him!"FrostNova's voice could be heard silently gasping as her footsteps became clearer."It's truly him...!"

At that point, W could feel her own fuse start to blow over, "Okay! OKAY! I'm with Skullshatterer with this one—WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" She screamed into her radio as she dashed to the side, avoiding falling debris and... her body felt slow? No, it was more accurate to say that the wind was somehowhamperingher movements as it was produced by the gigantic bird!

The radio started to be filled with chatter to the point where only one or two words could be coherently made from it. At this point, the situation would start to devolve into chaos if—

"Everybody."

—If somebody hadn't stepped in.

The voice of Talulah coming through like a superheated blade broke everybody out of their stupor, questions, and ramblings. For a moment, the only sounds that could be heard were the shout of the Reunion grunts, the shattering of buildings, and the strange gust of wind that was being blown out with each flap of its wings. The symphony of madness produced by the ongoing orchestra had finally ceased.

In the silence, the Tyrant of Reunion's voice became their sole source of clarity again,"we will target the bird. Forsake all other objectives, the Ursus military has already been crippled and are retreating. Kill it—and then find the summoner of the bird. Are. We. Clear?"

At that moment, a black halberd flew through the sky before any confirmation could be given. It left a thunderous crack to ring about, and all buildings which were even remotely close to it had been blown away, leaving all the debris to be pulverized into dust. A faint red trail followed it, leaving everybody once more agape at thesheer mightwhich came from it.

BOOM!

It slammed into the side of the colossal bird, rearing it off course and making it screech out in mind, the sound waves produced by it making everybody instinctively shield themselves as the resonance matched the environment's frequency to the point where it would have caused damage if it hadn't been interrupted.

"Give it no respite."The booming voice of Patriot came in next time, and it was immediately followed up.

A blast of fire came next after the flying halberd which had torn at the bird's side, but it merely grazed the target as Garuda barely recovered from the previous blow. Some parts of its feathers were left burning as it flew into the sky, a trail of blood flowing from where the spear had impaled it. A testament not to the power of the spear—but the unnatural being's own durability.

"...Understood,"the voice of FrostNova came in, clear and concisely,"we will focus our efforts on... the bird."For the first time, W could hear the ice bunny's voice quiver.

Right after, however, the Sarkaz could see a multitude of ice spikes fly into the air and pinpoint toward their target.

"Tch...! If we have Patriot and Talulah with us...!"the frantic voice of Mephisto had considerably calmed,"then we can take that thing down!"

"I won't be of any use, I'll look for the summoner."Crownslayer came in as the wind could be heard from the opposite side due to her high-speed movements.

"Well, if you say so!" W called in toward her radio as she brought out her carbine, the objective was far away, and even with her enhanced grenade launcher from that sea urchin guy—it still wouldn't cover enough range as her rifle would in hitting its target.

"Ugh... I-I'll attempt to climb up a building,"Skullshatterer could be heard.

"Are you stupid? What if it collapses and you get swished—well, not that I'm complaining!" W called out while firing the carbine and preemptively dodging the lightning bolts which came down. "Just sit your ass down and enjoy the show or something!"

"You...!"

"Focus on what you can do at the moment,"Talulah interrupted their conversation,"enough of your incompetence. Especially you, W."

'What am I getting that for?!'The white-haired Sarkaz wanted to cuss out the She-Dragon right then and there, but held back her tongue.

OOO*

"Does that work for you?" Megumi turned toward the group in front of him as they stared dazedly at what he had done. "Now scram, get out of here." He motioned his hand toward the exit of Chernobog.

Surprisingly, he had run into the group he already knew as Rhodes Island that had been in some sort of escort mission. With all four of his eyes and markings out after utilizing Shrine against some of Reunion's members on his way toward where the main brass were, the Jujutsu Sorcerer had nearly provoked the group with his presence alone. Especially after the brown-haired Cautus in front of him had been repulsed by him.

The situation had almost escalated into something bloody as he had multiple weapons pointed toward him, but a mention of Laurentina to the... Amiya girl had her immediately recognizing the name and pulling herself out of her shock. Still, Megumi didn't miss how her rabbit ears would twitch and the way she would move closer to the Doctor the longer he listened to the group's words quietly.

So, they had come to an agreement after settling all the recent misunderstandings. He would stay back and fend off Reunion because he had a "grudge" with them, while the Rhodes Island people would make their exit. It had worked—especially when he had summoned Garuda and commanded the Essenced Totality to charge headfirst into Reunion. It possessed the ability to slow down time with its wings, but it wasn't as potent as it sounded, but it got the job done. To push it to the extreme and make it as potent as possible, he would have to have Garuda draw a Domain Trajectory.

"Understood."

Megumi turned toward whoever spoke, it was a man with black sunglasses as he stepped forward. The black-haired man nodded toward his words, before replying, "then I'll deal with the rest of Reunion."

Amiya wanted to say something about it, but felt her words dying in her throat. She glanced upward toward the Doctor, and he could only give her a shake of his head.

Just as the Jujutsu Sorcerer was about to leave, he paused for a moment as he assessed a blonde-haired Pegasus. He swore he had seen her somewhere before.

"...Yes?" Margaret Nearl could feel her grip tightening as the black-haired man's eyes had landed on her. The crimson spirals of them were the most unnerving eyes she had ever seen.

"No, nevermind," Megumi shook his head,'Viviana...'his inner voice became bitter as he walked past her.

"Uhm...?" Nearl moved out of the way as she felt his mood drop and his steps move past her, "t-thank you for the help...?" She called out, but hadn't received a response from him. A hand was put on her shoulder after, and she turned around to see Ace.

"Forget it, it's best if we move forward." He shook his head.

"Ace is right," Dobermann still kept her eyes trained on Megumi as his steps remained steady, "it's best if we... leave this bizarre scene behind us." She still had a hard time swallowing what she had seen.

The Doctor turned toward Amiya, "Amiya...?" His voice called out toward the shell-shocked Cautus with a worried tone.

"E-eh? Ah..." Amiya's ears drooped downwards after she had snapped out of her stupor. Her hands twitched upwards strangely enough, as if she wanted to reach out toward the black-haired man, "oh... sorry, I spaced out." She shook her head after, much to the confusion of everybody present.

"Are you alright?" Nearl turned away from the departing figure of Megumi after shaking her head, "if you need to take the process at a more fitting pace, then—"

"It's fine," Amiya adamantly shook her head in disagreement, "we should get going." Her voice became more firm as she gave the black-haired man one more look as his figure started to shrink from their distance, "if he wants to stay back, then those are his wishes..."

The group nodded at her words, giving the black-haired man one last look—

—While he summoned a second gigantic beast.

They blinked a few times as the splashes of an unknown black liquid made itself known once more, splattering across the streets and flowing across them. What came out of it held the same presence as the previous one, but this one held three heads and was more similar to an elephant than the bird from before.

It was at that moment that they had decided they had seen enough, and made their swift exit.

Hopefully... it wouldn't come with any more complications.

OOO*

FrostNova narrowed her eyes as her palms were directed toward the bird flying high in the sky. She applied everything she could, from gigantic ice spears, millions of ice shards, and even attempting to freeze the air around the creature which had been sending off gusts of wind which shattered windows. Not only that, but it could change its screeches to a frequency that made her body quake, but she had lowered her temperatures in order to counteract the "resonance."

Still... it felt as if her body was becoming slower, and it made it much more difficult to dodge the lightning bolts which would spray outwards more incessantly than a water spray. In order to accommodate for such a nearly unavoidable attack, she formed ice barriers around herself in order to block it, but they exploded from a mere touch of the cackling thunder. At best, they could only serve as diversions.

Narrowing her eyes, the white-haired Cautus had felt a strange feeling boil in her chest. She felt excited once more to meet somebody she had been wondering if she would ever see again—but then the cruel reality came to her that they would meet on the worst terms possible at the moment. In fact, she was already sure the damage had been done, why else wouldhesend a skyscraper spanning bird with that wheel against them?

The Cautus breathed in shakily as another halberd ruptured the skies themselves. Her perception of time crawled to a stand-still, and she was sure it was the same for the other Reunion Commanders as the famed hulking throw of Patriot had been executed once more. It had shot toward like a ballista—stronger—than any ballista bolt she had seen or heard of. From the frosted feathers and the multiple singe marks on the bird, then this one should—

BWOOM!

—The impossible happened.

A distortion in space occurred, and the halberd was diverted completely off-course like a missile having gone rogue, and spun elsewhere. FrostNova couldn't believe her eyes as she turned toward where the ethereal sound had come from, the one which had a frequency that didn't seem to come from the world they knew.

Her heart sank deeper.

She could feel her body becoming colder as a gigantic elephant with three heads, four arms, and two hind legs was crawling over the streets of Chernobog. It wasn't as large as the six-winged bird, but it was still colossal in size, enough to the point where she was smaller than even its eye and fingers.

The radio chatter became even more disordered, the voices all coalescing into a flaming pandemonium that would threaten to have their current plans crash from where they were at the moment.

'Megumi...'FrostNova swallowed a lump in her throat as she turned toward the radio, and let her frosty voice"everybody! Split up! Grounded units deal with the elephant below while ranged units target the colossal bird!"Thankfully, it seemed like it reached through and everybody just about listened to it, letting her father and potentially Talulah focus on attacking the six-winged bird.

The wheels.

She could see them clearly.

The eight-pronged objects which radiated a divine might which intervened against Reunion—baring its teeth for all of them to face against.

The next time she saw him, despite what her heart told her—FrostNova knew that she would have to attack Fushiguro Megumi without hesitation.

OOO*

"I-it's him..." a veteran Reunion member standing behind Talulah whispered out as he backed away into a rather new one. "It's really him..."

"Tch, what?" The other's voice echoed through his mask as the other members muttered. Talulah had stopped attacking the six-winged bird, and that had left them all in confusion, "what's so special about that... freak? Huh?" He was just about to raise his crossbow toward the approaching black-robed man, but was stopped.

"Y-you don't understand!" The veteran member hissed out as he raised his arms and pressed the crossbow down, "are you fucking stupid?! Do you know how he is?! Oh—oh! Of course you don't! You weren't there!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" The newer member let out a frustrated breath, "what's so special about him, huh?! So what, he's got some fear-inducing Arts, but what about that?!" Even if his nerves were flaying from under his skin, the Reunion member knew that all it took was a well-placed shot to get rid of the feeling he was experiencing.

"Why do you think our leader hasn't attacked yet?" His voice became deeper as he groaned out in... fear, "listen clearly, all of you!" He was no longer addressing the single man in front of him but everybody else behind, "h-he's that monster who killed two Emperor's Blades and forced three others to retreat! The! Facerending! Liches! You don't know the fuck you're messing with!"

Sounds laced with absurdity reverberated across as the fear-inducing effects of the approaching black-haired man's Arts seemed to finally wrest all of their hearts into submission. For some inexplicable reason, all it took were those words to bring them into a hesitant frenzy, and nearly rethink their actions.

"Silence."

The voice of Talulah promptly worked its magic, as all the frantic members stitched their mouths shut at its thundering reverberation.

"I—" Talulah spoke upwards with conviction, as her chin lowered to stare down the rumored man in front of them "—will take care of him. All of you will merely be burdens, so step back." It wasn't a request, it was anorder.

The members shakily stepped back, with the veteran booking it to the absolute back in order to exit the view of the approacher.

Silence reigned. It bore the crown of the scene, becoming the absolute constant amongst the twisting flames and orange-hued surroundings.

A single step was taken by Talulah, and she was in front ofhim.

"Fushiguro Megumi," she looked upwards as she gazed into the four eyes of the Jujutsu Sorcerer, "it has been a long time, hasn't it?" Her tone was measured against him. It was clear enough that not for a single moment either of them would think of breaking eye contact.

"Talulah," Megumi replied while gazing downwards himself to meet Talulah's eyes, "I didn't come here in front of you for pleasantries. No matter how much time has changed, you can't explain this to me."

"I cannot," Talulah's right hand rested on her sheathed blade as she calmly replied back, "you wouldn't begin to fathom in the first place."

"What a disappointment," he bore a disgusted look. "Is that all you have to say?"

"I should be asking you that question," the Enemy of Ursus was right in front of them, "who would have known the winds would have brought you in plain sight, in the center of Chernobog itself."

"I can't tell if I regret the decision to come here or not," Megumi dryly said while tilting his head, "but I've already come to a conclusion."

"Oh? Pray tell, what is it?" Talulah inquired.

"That the heat makes you look more pathetic than usual."

It was as if a single pin had dropped at that moment.

No a single word was spoken after as the pressure reached its crescendo.

The blistering heat had risen once more, and in that fateful moment...

...A Reunion between two dual souls had occurred.

OOO*

Patriot halted in his steps as his crimson orbs narrowed. There was a strange discrepancy that he couldn't quite put his finger on. It was only while he paused his throwing motion of the third halberd toward Garuda did he finally understand why his actions had stopped. It was something that struck him on a more primal level, one that seemed to originate from his conceptual existence.

It only made sense.

Beside him were the Guerillas and his trusted Shieldguards, above him was the six-winged bird with an all too familiar wheel, and then, in front of him was...

Mahoraga: "Totality" - Algonquin, Progenitor of the Wendigos

(Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga Wendigo [Tiger Funeral Round Deer])

...A beast fashioned in the image of his own. Its slow and steady steps rumbled across the street as the Guerillas looked forward with bated breaths at the gluttonous flames leaking out of the body of the six-eyed monster with a wendigo mask adorning its face. Across its body was armor made of primal bones, and of course, atop its head was the floating golden Dharmachakra which represented harmony itself.

"The inspiration... is not lost..." Patriot dryly mused out, surprising the squadron that was present with him, "it seems... Fate is naught but... a pestilence toward us once more..." His plans had changed. With the injuries the target in the sky had sustained, the Wendigo was confident that his daughter could handle the rest.

"In...formation!" Patriot's voice billowed forth as the Guerillas and Shieldguards heeded his commands in a flash. He stood at the forefront, the spearhead which would charge headfirst into the danger that was in front of him, "a Wendigo... in name, yet are you... a Wendigo in might...?"

The Algonquin people, belonging to the scant few who had invented the concept and mythology of the Wendigo itself back on Earth.

The Essenced Totality had already stopped in its steps as it held Ame-no-Sakahoko in its right hand, and a modified Darksteel spear in its left. It reeled both of its arms back as it roared, flames pouring out of its body in fireballs. They weren't ordinary flames however, as everything they burned were converted into Cursed Energy—further fueling the potency of the fire it outputted.

Patriot gave it no more words, as he took the first step.

A single stomp, and he advanced, a bastion toward ruin, a bastion toward injustice, a bastion toward horrors, and a bastion toward Fate.

He would not take a single step back—for the only path was forward.

OOO*

"Come on!" Mephisto yelled out toward the horde he had created, "attacking that stupid elephant! Kill it!"

Faust stayed silent as he aimed his crossbow upward at the six-winged bird, and fired a shot. A purple light emitted from it as his Arts activated, making it barrel toward the alien creature up above. It made contact, but...

"Hardly any damage..." He felt insignificant at that very moment as he grabbed Mephisto by the back and dashed away, feeling thunder incinerate the location of where he had just been.

"Ugh!" The grabbed boy let out a grunt as he was dragged away, "F-Faust!"

"Not now!" Faust called out as they made it through the advancing horde controlled by Mephisto, "we need to find a safer location—"

A sudden premonition overcame him. The air became sauntered with a venom tinged aroma, and the Pihida ceased all actions as his eye widened. His body was screaming at him to move, but he just...

"F-FAUST!" Mephisto called out with a panicked breath, and grabbed Faust to pull him away, "LOOK OUT!"

A sudden red slash had passed where they were at, the attack obliterating a large portion of the horde which were advancing toward Ganesha.

The two of them could feel their breath start to become stuck in their throat when they saw what it was.

Mahoraga: "Totality" - Shuten-Dōji, King of the Onis

(Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga Oni [Piercing Ox Divine Dogs Toad])

Three-headed, samurai armored, and brandishing two blades whichoozeda malignant aura. One was black, and the other was red. Venom poured out of its three masks aslaughtercould be heard from underneath it—a high-pitched, voracious laughter which was mocking them.

Normally, Mephisto would be enraged at such a transgression toward him, but the sheer alarm and panic that took over his body made his words die out in his throat. If he spoke against the being, it felt as if the two blades would strike forward, and decapitate him—leaving his soul to suffer ten-thousand cold nights in the confines of those bleeding cursed blades.

"Mephisto..." Faust heaved out while his body shook, "send the entire horde toward it. We need to run,NOW!"

On command, the scared little boy's voice quivered out, "a-attack it...! ATTACK IT NOW! GET IT AWAY!"

On cue, the horde stopped in their steps as they turned toward Shuten-Dōji as their new designated target.

From the King of Onis' masked mouth...a twisted smile broke through, one filled with joy and glee.

OOO*

Multiple skyscrapers were sliced in half and sent flying into the air, leaving them to fall downwards and fall to the commands of Terra's gravity. They shattered upon immediate impact, and were left to rot as pulverized debris which held no place in humanity's civilization, for only anarchy remained in the lands it once stood in—in the people it once confided in the safety of its walls.

Fire continued to burn through concrete and leave them a molten mess, as those orange lights flickered across the environment. A smell of asphalt and sulfur could be smelled the further somebody had moved close toward the scene.

If one came closer... they could see two dotted figures clashing against one another.

"Tch...!" Megumi let out a grunt as he blocked Talulah's blade with his bare hands, feeling the heat singe at his skin.

"Is that it?" Talulah swung her blade and sent him flying backwards, but the Jujutsu Sorcerer was able to halt his momentum and go for a counterstrike at her next thrust, "you've become weaker."

The blade slid against Megumi's forearm, "and so?" He deflected the blade and went for a barrage of blows, which were promptly blocked by the Draco's recovery.

"A foolish endeavour," she huffed while channeling her Arts, burning through his guard and slashing at his shoulder, letting the melting flesh fly off as a sizzling mess, "all your power lies in your summons."

"Oh?!" Megumi grinned while grabbing her blade with his right hand, uncaring if it cut into his palm or burned his hand, "is that so?!" He blitzed forward and grabbed her face suddenly, the burst of speed catching Talulah off-guard.

Right after, he flew through multiple buildings, leaving them collapsing in its wake. A barrage of Cleaves followed it, before the black-haired man threw the target off of him just as the heat was starting to affect him too much.

A slamming sound was heard, as Talulah's figure could be seen slowly coming out of the smokescreen which had been formed from her crashing body. She stepped out with a cut on her cheek and small gashes across her body. Her gaze had turned more furious as she glared at the Jujutsu Sorcerer in front of her.

Megumi spat out the blood which had accumulated in his mouth before snapping his fingers.

Chains shot outwards in vortex portals as it constricted Talulah's body. "Hmph, trivial." The dragon lady was about to channel her Arts to break through it, but found that they had beendisrupted. It left her wide open for a...

...A Mach 3 drop-kick, which had sent her barrelling out of the chains and crashing through more of the ruined structures of Chernobog.

The black-haired man gave her no respite as he presented his right hand toward her and sent off a barrage of Dismantles toward her location.

Reacting swiftly, Talulah was able to recover from the revolting blow and deflect every single one of the slashes, before slashing in wide arcs despite her distance from her target.

Megumi narrowed his eyes as he ran to the side, watching asenormoussword waves the size of skyscrapers shot through where the Draco had aimed, "damn...!" He soon skidded to a halt as he swung his arm in a wide arc too, sending off a stronger and more concentrated Dismantle in order to clash against the last sword wave in front of him.

The pressure between the two objects crashing against each other produced a wind which caused rocks and debris to fly outwards.

"I would have expected more?" Talulah's voice came through as her figure became clear. One hand was behind her back as she pointed her greatsword elegantly toward Megumi, the two having come to a stop, "or will you call upon the Divine General?"

"Ha~..." Megumi wiped the dried blood at the corner of his lips, "you ought to shut up at some point." He hadn't felt bothered by the accumulating damage, as his Reverse Cursed Technique continued to heal his injuries, "besides, do I need to use a Divine General against a woman-lizard in the first place? In fact, I won't even need to pull out my weapons in the first place." A cocky smirk left his lips as he sneered toward Talulah.

He was stalling... for one of his Essenced Totalities to complete a chant for him. The distance between him and them just made the time needed for it to register longer.

"You're not one to speak, fool." Talulah narrowed her eyes.

"Neither are you," Megumi rolled his eyes, "hey, come on. You're doing your best, aren't you? Try again harder next time," he lifted his palm in front of him, facing the sky, and bent his fingers slightly toward himself in acome-onmanner.

Talulah's eyes turned half-lid as she scoffed, and lifted her blade...

That was until purple flames enveloped him, overtaking every inch of Fushiguro Megumi's body and coalescing into a single wheel behind him, dressed in the heat of Naraka itself.

"Maximum: Naraka."

The Draco stared puzzledly at the newfound power spiking from the black-haired man, just as her blade had pointed toward him. The imperceptible grin on her lips immediately faded away as she could feel the flames radiating off of his body... one so hot,which it could immolate even the very soul.

Strangely enough, Megumi had turned tail andran awayfrom where their location was at with a burst of speed.

Breaking out of her confusion, Talulah stomped her foot and charged after him as they began to run across the city-blocks. Left and right turns were made as she sent arcing slashes which continued to rip through the scenery and chase after Megumi.

In response, the Jujutsu Sorcerer only dodged them or sent out flaming Dismantles of his own to completely intercept Talulah, before he leapt forward a grand distance once he reached the closest center of Chernobog itself—where skyscrapers still remained intact. There was a control tower quite a distance away, and he was glad that was so.

From the height he had jumped, the dilapidated streets no longer became an eyesore toward him as the darkened skies became clearer. There was a Catastrophe roaming off in the far distance, ready to batter the city—but that hadn't become a current problem for himself. He had other plans.

Megumi looked back after landing on the hefty skyscraper beneath his feet. The first thing that caught his sights was Talulah, the Tyrant of Reunion who stood just about a hundred or so meters away from him, but for somebody like her, covering such a distance would be child's play. For why she hadn't done so, Megumi did not really care.

Naraka was active, and he wished to execute an attack that had left the Columbian military in fear after he had been enraged by all of their conspiracies and human testing done in the country—especially with Rhine Lab—who had worked in unison with them. It had occurred after Project Diabolic, the one which had almost resulted in Ifrit's death, and had truly set his views of the world in stone.

Megumi couldn't forgive them. That was why he had devised a completely and utterly inhumane attack in order to send his message through. Through the various use of Binding Vows and every single aspect of his dual Cursed Techniques, he had been able to push himself to new heights without mindlessly increasing his Reserves or Output.

If Reunion wished to slaughter innocent men, women, children, and the elderly with their cruel actions... then he would match their cruelty in full. No hesitation.

He clasped his hands together while keeping his sights on Talulah, forming the Yakushi Nyorai-In Mudra.

DOMAIN EXPANSION: CHIMERA SHADOW GARDEN

It was small. His Domain Expansion only covered the top section of the skyscraper and was an incomplete one in order to conserve his Cursed Energy. Eyes started to peer out from the black liquid which were squirming as if they had life, but in reality—they were a meager byproduct of his influenced Innate Domain. In tandem with the glowing Nichirin behind him, Megumi had the means of executing the attack even he had prided himself in.

Letting his hands go and spreading them out, he clasped them together once more. It was a technique he hadn't used in a long time, yet it would crawl itself into existence once more, in the form of screaming amethyst! It was an impromptu attack and an improvised one back then, but now he had a much better grasp of its concept.

"Talulah!" Megumi roared out toward the woman off in the distance, who watched his every move with vested focus,"LET'S HAVE A CONTEST OF FIREPOWER!"His provocation rang out clear as a declaration toward the dragon lady.

It was time to bring it up from the top.

From the Jujutsu Sorcerer's own words, she had been rattled by it instinctively. So in response, Talulah raised a palm, pouring as much strength as she could into her Arts. A scene flashed around them, encompassing their vicinity in snow and decrepit forest trees in commemoration of their long destined Reunion—before returning back to the cityscape.

The heated hue of purple and the heated hue of red shall clash once more.

As it stood for Fushiguro Megumi, creating an attack with the yield capable enough to destroy a city in one fell swoop was far out of the bounds of what his Cursed Energy Reserves and Cursed Energy Output could accomplish. However, one must look at how such an explosion was ever accomplished by the hands of the homosapien race.

"BREATH OF THE DRAGON..."

The ingredients, just as they are used in cooking, could be prescribed to the components needed to forge a high yield explosion. Firstly, the addition of deuterium and tritium are needed in order to enhance the yield of the explosion. Through a Binding Vow set at the exact moment Incinerator had been executed, Max Elephant's Shadow Extension could only be used once per day in exchange for creating those two radioactive isotopes of hydrogen—and once the length had been fulfilled, Megumi was free to break the Binding Vow and set it at another time.

"...SOLITARY STAR..."

Secondly, gamma rays produced by Nue's Shadow Extension and bolstered by the very same Binding Vow aided in heating up the flames of Incinerator along with the addition of Tiger Funeral's Shadow Extension under the same Binding Vow in order to further increase Incinerator's temperatures. Additionally, a Binding Vow was created to make it so that Incinerator could not spread its heat and can only be focused on the size of its projectile in order to further intensify its inferno rage. Dismantle and Cleave from Shrine have to also be landed in tandem with the activation of Naraka in order to activate Incinerator, thus further increasing its potency.

Thirdly, a Binding Vow situated to make Piercing Ox's concept of distance increasing power has been made so that it cannot be applied to Fushiguro Megumi's body, but can then be applied to Incinerator, and increase its temperature furthermore in relativity to the distance it has covered. Once more, a one day limit Binding Vow on the Shadow Extension has also been enchained upon it.

"...INCINERATOR..."

With the highest applications of the Ten Shadows and Shrine Cursed Techniques, the kitchen has once more heated up the ingredients needed to create something splendorous. A truly Divine Technique of his own in the making! In fact, the ingredients of deuterium and tritium have been cooked by the flames long enough, in order to bring upon one of the greatest weapons of mass destruction ever conceived!

"...OPEN!"

Savoring both Fushiguro Megumi's Reserves and the taste of victory—a meal had been delivered—as the equivalent of the World Cutting Slash itself in terms of pure destruction has sprung forth!

Talulah widened her eyes at the approaching projectile, before cancelling her own attack. The instincts etched into her body commanded her to run away from it, as if telling her she stood absolutely no chance in the contest before. In response, she heeded their screams, turning heel, anddashingas far away as she could from the mass of impending doom.

Indeed, what she had witnessed... was a pure fusion explosion—Death's chosen instrument made to destroy worlds!

WORLD BURNING FLAMES!

A flash of light had occurred.

The world turned into nothing but a bright spectacle, blinding everybody who had gazed upon it. It was incandescent in nature, burning every eyelid which would dare stare at its magnificent approach.

A gray mushroom cloud appeared and spread upwards toward heaven, a natural phenomena that was bound to be produced from such a high-yield explosion. It was a totem of humanity's self-destructive tendencies, and their all-consuming rage which would incinerate the world itself.

It was about 15 kilotons, rivalling that of the Little Boy nuclear bomb which had ravaged Hiroshima.

Ryomen Sukuna's thermobaric fireball that spanned 400 meters in diameter—which had also sprung upwards in a super-condensed pillar—far surpassed that of Little Boy's 274 meters of diameter from its fireball. In short, the explosion produced by Fushiguro Megumi's pure fusion explosion despite having proven itself as a mighty force, still paled in comparison to the King of Curses' own thermobaric version.

That was also because he had held back the amount of deuterium and tritium placed in Incinerator. By all means, it had been created by his own metrics, without utilizing any environmental influences in order to power it as a thermobaric dust explosion would have.

For why Fushiguro Megumi had chosen 15 kilotons... it was simply for sentimental purposes.

Ten Shadows—a Cursed Technique to undoubtedly rival Limitless, even without the Divine General.

A shockwave passed through the entire district of Chernobog, shattering windows and tearing apart buildings in its wake. A blender of a dispersing tornado had been created, forcing everybody in its vicinity to fall down and shield themselves, both Reunion and hidden citizens alike.

Glass continued to break apart as debris flung all across in the passing zephyr of god's breath, before calming down into a calm breeze. The rage of the celestials had already ushered forth its eradication clause, and there was no need to bear its wrath upon the world once more.

The damage had been done, and only by a single man.

Even in another world, the profane fire of Earth drags its claws across civilizations.

So, bear witness and behold!

All of humanity's sins presented in one spectacle—

—With a smoldering heat surpassing even the brightest stars!

OOO*

Amiya, Nearl, Ace, Dobermann, and the group with them all raised up their shields and created Arts barriers to defend themselves from the ensuing shockwave which had passed through the area. Clinging onto whatever they could, the pressure emitted had nearly sent them off of their feat, but they prevailed against the ensuing mass of destruction forming not too far away.

A metallic taste immediately invaded everybody's taste buds, before they braced themselves for the ensuing wave of calamity that had passed through. Everything in front of them had been reduced to ashes or were torn apart by a razor-like shockwave which left their skins feeling like needles were on them.

"W-what was that?!" Nearl yelled out while she glowed with a radiant light, aiding both Ace and Amiya in shielding themselves and their team from the explosion, "there's too much dust, I can't see anything!" Her vision continued to be clouded by the many particles being blown toward her and her group.

"Hold on...!" Ace joined in with the yelling as he grunted with effort, "whoever caused that is a goddamned maniac!" He gritted his teeth as the blinding light subsided, along with the debris of the buildings finally relenting from the passing storm.

"That..." Amiya let out a vicious cough as she fell to the ground, feeling the heat of the environment start to crawl to unbearable lengths, "I... t-the power, the hatred...!" she could feel the Doctor grab onto her shoulders in order to keep her steady while the rest of the Rhodes Island group gathered together.

"Is everybody alright?! Amiya, stay calm!" Dobermann barked out toward everybody while pressing against Ace's shield in order to support him, but it was no longer needed as the shockwave had subsided... briefly, "there's a pressure vacuum that's pulling in all of the air, we have to get out of here fast!"

"Ugh—this heat!" Nearl winced when the defensive properties of her Arts subsided, "come on, everybody, make haste!" She raised her warhammer and utilized Arts which would provide ample healing and enhancements to the groups. Her eyes had still been trained off in the distance, and she had to ask herself,'has the sun been dropped into the center of Chernobog?'An absurd thought came to her.

"Go, go, go!" Ace motioned with his arm as the group started running against the pressure vacuum that had been created, which was attempting to pull them in along with them, "the oxygen being pulled in will fuel the flames, we have to move against it and get out of the mess that will come out of this!"

"It's... it's worse than Talulah's!" Amiya winced as they continued to run against it, "there's—! It looks like fire tornadoes!" She had taken only a single glance backwards, but the blackened buildings affected by the heat of the explosion from earlier had immolating flames eating at their exterior.

Due to the pressure vacuum that had been formed, the oxygen pulled back inwards toward the mushroom cloud fed the hungry beasts of the inferno in order to increase their temperatures, range, and in turn; also creating fire whirls which sprung upwards in the air as tornadoes would. Compared to that weather phenomenon however, it was much smaller in size. But still, they reached upwards to the size of skyscrapers, leaving flames to engulf every single building and to paint the sky orange.

"Tch...! It's like walking through a hurricane!" Dobermann gritted her teeth, "how is everybody's condition so far?!" She continued to run along with the group and fight through the intense heat.

"Just... keep pushing forward, I'm fine so far!" Nearl yelled out.

"I'll make sure the Doctor is protected...! I'll be okay!" Amiya's voice rang amidst the hurricane-like pressure produced from the air travelling back toward the mushroom cloud, while also creating an Arts barrier surrounded by black and red sparks. The empathic connection to whatever was happening in the distance had subsided.

The Doctor nodded slowly while being aided by Amiya and some other Rhodes Island Operators in moving as far away from the explosion as possible. Underneath his visor, the eyes that were hidden looked upwards to the grand spectacle in front of him. An aberration itself had formed in the heart of this bleeding city—now burnt to the point where all blood had evaporated from its innards.

"I can still go on!" Ace affirmed Dobermann's question, "seems like you are too, let's save our questions on what the hell happened for later once we're away to a safer location!" His pace started to pick up once the vacuum subsided, along with everybody else.

Off in the distance behind the Rhodes Island group, the mushroom cloud continued to fester in its form. It protruded upwards and continued to do so in its unholy shape, as if it stood against the preservation of humanity itself.

An icon of assured annihilation had been given birth from the womb of science. Indisputably, it was both the representation of brilliance and ugliness held in modern ingenuity.

OOO*

FrostNova watched blankly as her ice barrier started to melt at the intensity of the heat. Despite the scars that winter had left upon her body, the phantom frost which had clung to her skin had completely dissipated due to the intense heat present in front of her, and the gaping maw of dust that had consumed the entire battalion present from where she was at.

The radio everybody held had started to turn into static, and nothing could be sent or received from them. It didn't help either that all efforts were being put into blocking the shockwave which had passed through—which was honestly the most tame part of it even though it had ripped apart the buildings closest toward the mushroom cloud off in the distance.

Grimacing, FrostNova intensified her Arts in order to provide a cool air around everybody and to calm the raging ardor of the rising temperatures. With many other Casters and the Yeti Squadron working in tandem with herself, the white-haired Cautus could start feeling the pressure from the attack start to subside.

She was at a complete loss of words, never would she have expected that an explosion of such undulated zeal would come to pass, but what had even worried her more was... "where is Talulah now?" FrostNova felt herself snapping out of her stupor and called out to anybody who could know. "Does anybody have a working radio!"

Unfortunately for her, nobody did. All she had received were grunts and shaking heads that were filled with the same despair that came from the explosion. The hand holding the radio started to shake with worry, before she turned back toward her ice barrier which had stopped melting. Shakily, she dispelled it, and was presented with an awful sight in front of her.

A city, although once destroyed in front of her, had been reduced tonothing. The buildings that once stood stall despite all of the abuse Reunion had thrown toward it had either collapsed or were completely vaporized from the flash that had occurred. There was a cloud in the shape of a mushroom, reaching its hand up toward the heavens themselves—declaring that even the denizens up above were not safe from its grasp.

Her pupils shook when staring at the inanimate monstrosity which had been created by means that she was unaware of. All FrostNova knew was that it had been directed toward Reunion's leader, and the one who had done so had once been an ally of theirs. An expectant one who held hope in their continued success, and yet where had it brought him to view as they were now...?

Death, vainglory, and slaughter.

It was terrifying.

Something swelled in FrostNova's chest, as she continued to stare at the combinate ire of a man who had once shattered two Dominions of Ursus.

OOO*

Everything had vanished, both in front of them, and the summons which they had been combatting.

W shielded her eyes from the bright light off in the distance as the mushroom cloud became clear before her eyes.

Faust and Mephisto stuck close to each other as they were at a loss for words at what they were seeing, at the unbridled destruction that had been left after the explosion.

Skullshatterer's hands had almost dropped his grenade launchers as the sight outside of his gas mask became clearer and clearer, a testament of the true cruelty that humanity was capable of was in front of him.

It was in front of them. All of them.

Not a single soul was spared from the almighty sight of one of humanity's more inferior bombs which had been invented in another world.

Crownslayer could feel her Reproba instincts demand her to hide behind anything to get out of view of the cloud which tore open the sky itself, leaking out such ghastly smoke that it looked like it would consume anything it had touched.

She stared upon it, the hidden skull beneath the mounds of smoke acting as its hood.

Death itself, bearing a wide open maw of pure ecstasy.

OOO*

Amongst all others beside the Dragon of Reunion, Patriot stood the closest toward the blast radius.

He felt it, the razor-sharp wind which had passed through his body and the heat that encompassed his entire form.

Yet he stood firm and unyielding against the force of nature taken in by humanity's hands.

Not once would he yield as his soldiers were commanded to step back.

Not once did he buckle against the cruelty presented in front of him.

For hundreds of years, not once did he ever think to step back.

No matter how much he despised it, the death and needless slaughter of Terra's souls.

He knew—that he had reaped what he sowed.

The undying light of his eyes continued to stare in the mushroom cloud which had erupted forth onto the land of Terra, making the city of Chernobog itself scream in pain.

Amongst the clouds, was a single sight that had caught his eyes completely, and reel it in toward the decadent sight of the true aberration beneath it.

An Imaginary Demon, walking upon the rusted clouds of hell.

OOO*

The heat was unbearable, acting as a scalding iron against her skin. No, even worse, Talulah had never felt such burning pain before, and it continued to bother her even as she drifted in-between consciousness and unconsciousness. The two worlds, despite whatever they entailed, still brought her pain.

The slither grasp upon her mind was loosening, and she hadn't known why.

She coughed, retched, and cried out. It was the most horrendous experience she had ever come to know, worse than even when the smoldering flames had rent an entire village into nothing but flames.

Pain.

Was that all she could feel at this moment? Was that all her mind could comprehend amongst the masses of guilt and tragedy pressing down on her shoulders? What could have brought her to become conscious of the world once more?

At that moment, a hand had grasped her groveling form, heading straight for the neck.

Talulah's eyes shot open in a panic as her eyes were presented with something in front of her.

A four-eyed demon with black hair splayed outwards, and black tribal markings on his face which represented the King of Hell himself. The one who would bear upon his judgement and torture souls for all of eternity was in front of her, and she was completely powerless toward it.

His right hand was reeled back into a sharp blade with his fingers as he was ready to deal the final blow.

The Draco shut her eyes as she prepared the feeling of her throat being stabbed through, or the searing heat from before to completely overcome her body.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

She waited, over and over again for the end to make itself known in the horizonless abyss of whatever black world she was to be greeted with.

Yet...

Nothing had happened.

It was then her eyelids had gone against her commands and they drifted open shakily. Talulah would have expected to see the King of Hell's scornful face once more, but she hadn't.

Instead...

...She saw Fushiguro Megumi.

His expression was languid, and his eyes were slightly opened wider, as he stared into her eyes.

Talulah... couldn't see, and she couldn't understand why...

Why it looked like he was gazing upon a kindred soul.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

At that moment, the temperatures around them dropped to a point far below freezing.

Megumi reeled back as the ground quickly froze into ice, and threw Talulah away in front of him to let her body fall against the freezing ground, as his hand grasped at his own face to cover it. The temperatures continued to decrease as the orange world of hellfire dissipated before him, and he turned around to see...

...A Wendigo, and his white rabbit, standing amongst the miniature wasteland he had created.

His movements stopped as he regained his balance atop the ice, and focused on them. They were beside Talulah now, and were standing in front of him—in contest of his previous reign.

Megumi let out an irritated groan which condensed in the air and left mist to flow, as his hand lowered.

What next...?

OOO*

A/N: Did I go too crazy? Probably. Still, it's weaker than Sukuna's Furnace, and that Sukuna during Shinjuku which used Furnace had been super weakened to the point where his Output was considered pitiful, so... shrug ?

Talulah could probably tank it somewhat handily, she got hit by a good portion of the fireball, but the absolute center is the part which reaches 100 million degrees (dear god), and she's about city level. So, she shouldn't be dead. Terrans are really tough, especially since she's a Draco.

The amount of deuterium and tritium he decides to put into it determines the overall yield of the explosion, how much he can put inside it in total is more than this chapter's, but I'll leave the Maximum Output up to your imagination. If Sukuna had access to this application, he'd be able to overload it a crap ton more than Megumi could ever though (OVER 2x Reserves of Yuta headass).

The whole thing with World Burning Flames is that the ingredients and factors needed to create a pure fusion explosion costs much less Cursed Energy than actually using raw Cursed Energy to create an explosion the size of what the pure fusion explosion could have been with the ingredients.

For example (the numbers are trivial, and are only made for comparison):

Creating the ingredients such as deuterium and tritium to heat them up and let them explode - would cost 100 units of Cursed Energy

Creating the explosion without any ingredients, just through raw Output - would cost 5000 units of Cursed Energy

That's the best comparison I can make in how efficient Megumi was in creating the entire thing.

It also wasn't completely spelled out, but the Binding Vow which made Incinerator's heat not be able to be spread out, which decreases its range and AoE effect in order to make it hotter actually contributed to the pure fusion explosion instead of being a complete downside—because it kept the entire fusion reaction compressed. So yes, Binding Vow loopholes.

If you still need time to register what Megumi did, then I'll compile it here, and they're all done via Binding Vows to an extent.

Shadow Extension Nue: Provides gamma rays to heat up Incinerator—gamma rays are generally hotter than X-rays which are a primary component for starting a fusion reaction. Aided by Binding Vow which makes it so that the Shadow Extension can only be used once per day in order to increase its potency.

Shadow Extension Piercing Ox: The farther Incinerator travels, the higher the heat of Incinerator is charged up. Aided by Binding Vow which makes it so that the Shadow Extension can only be used once per day in order to increase its potency. Overall main contributor to the increase of heat.

Shadow Extension Tiger Funeral: Heats up Incinerator further. Aided by Binding Vow which makes it so that the Shadow Extension can only be used once per day in order to increase its temperature.

Shadow Extension Max Elephant: Can make radioactive isotopes of hydrogen in its water to provide deuterium and tritium. Aided by Binding Vow which makes it so that the Shadow Extension can only be used once per day in order to make the isotopes in the first place.

(Do note that the potency of the Shadow Extension depends on what Totality that it is taking from)

Incinerator: Binding Vow where it can only be used after landing Cleave Dismantle, and only when Naraka is active, along with a Binding Vow which makes it so that its heat and AoE can't spread in order to further increase its temperature (which also contributes to its greater pressure, more of a boon than a downside for the pure fusion reaction—but once again, Binding Vow loophole). It can also only be used while in Domain Expansion and targeted toward a single person to once more increase its heat.

Naraka: Bolsters the heat of Incinerator flames by a godly amount. There's also a Binding Vow which makes it so that Naraka forcefully dispelled right after he fires off Incinerator in exchange to further increase Incinerator's heat.

Incomplete Domain Expansion: Puts Megumi's overall potential to 120%, furthermore buffing all of his capabilities such as Shadow Extension, Output, Incinerator Heat, and everything in-between. It's made incomplete through a Binding Vow to remove its sinking properties, Gashadokuro, sure-hit effect, and making its size very small in order to further increase its potency in boosting Megumi's potential to 200%.

All of these self-imposed Binding Vows are interchangeable and breakable, so if Megumi does anything that contradicts them, then there was an unspoken moment where he had altered the Binding Vows back to normalcy or had broken them.

A lot of JJK fights have unspoken Binding Vows done.

Overall, knowledge from the modern world is cracked .

When did Megumi learn about pure fusion explosions? Uh... he just got curious one day and searched it up on the internet, let's just leave it at that.

Causing a pure fusion reaction shortened down to an analogy is basically just cooking at ungodly temperatures—from what I understand of it.

This might be the longest author notes I've ever made.